Jameh Mosque of Abarkuh

🕰️When was it built?

The original building is attributed to the Ilkhanid period and was rebuilt under the Timurids. The date 738 AH (1337–38) appears on the stucco mihrab of the east iwan. The mosque was added to the National Heritage List in 1933 as number 197.

🏛️What was it built for?

The mosque was built for prayer and the town's religious gatherings. Its prayer halls, iwans and basement make up its different spaces. The platform above the basement was used for prayer in summer, and arcades run around the courtyard.

👀What you will see

• The entrance faces north and leads through a large octagonal vestibule into the rectangular courtyard.
• The stucco mihrab of the east iwan is decorated with plant and arabesque patterns and Naskh and Kufic writing.
• The arcades around the iwans have two storeys, and their vaults rest on load-bearing transverse arches.
• Under the courtyard lies a cellar about ten by ten metres, part of the mosque's multi-level layout.
• The mosque had several mihrabs in different materials: marble and plain tile as well as stucco.

💡Something interesting

The mosque's main stone mihrab, with two decorative columns, was moved to the Islamic section of the National Museum of Iran. So not everything from the mosque is still in the building; to see that mihrab you have to visit the museum.

🎒Good to know before you go