THE SHAH MOSQUE IN ISFAHAN, IRAN By Kasembeli Dan

`1`` Exterior view of the Shah mosque

location and history Isfahan is located on the main north-south and east-west road crossing Iran, and was once the largest cities in the world. It flourished from 1050 to 1722, particularly in the 16 th centaury under the Safavid dynasty, when it became the capital of Persia for the second time in its history.

The architect is Shah Abbas,it is located at the North East end of the Great Maidan,or Square commissioned by the Shah The design of the Mosque proved challenging since the orientation of the qibla(the prayer wall facing Mecca) was not in line with the axis of the square The architects solved this by orienting the mosque in the proper direction and linking it to the square via a bent passageway The solution is not elegent since its evident from most of the square that the mosque is off its axis,but this does not detract from its beauty

About the Mosque The mosque is part of the Imam square, one of the largest squares in the world. The mosque which is also termed the Imam mosque, is a masterpiece of architecture. The mosque is rich in mosaics on its gateways, prayer halls and minarets.

Construction Construction of the mosque was started in The construction of the shah mosque was mainly completed during the period 1630 to The mosque has a slim 50 m tall minarets that resembles the 26 m tall entrance towers. It also has a sky-blue dome that is particularly impressive. It is registered along with the Naghsh-I Jahan Square also located in Isfahan as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

A World Heritage Site is a place listed by UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance e.g desert,monument,building or even a city The mosque is beautifully designed with seven colour mosaic tiles and calligraphic inscriptions It is one of the treasures featured around the world in 80 treasures presented by architecture historian Dan Cruickshank

The Interior

CONTRIBUTION The contribution of the Muslim World to a wide range of arts,sciences and academic disciplines is always overlooked or taken for granted. This site provides a glimpse of the rich cultural heritage within the Muslim World and the significant role that Muslims have played in the advancement of knowledge

It presents the rich creativity of Islamic Arts and Architecture, traces of historical development of Islamic regions and dynasties, highlighting their diversity of artistic expression from the inception of faith until the present.

REFERENCES Wikipedia ArchNet Sight 3D