Qazvin Grand Mosque

Qazvin Grand Mosque is one of the largest mosques in Iran in the style of four porches. This eye-catching monument was registered in the national monuments of Iran on December 6, 1961 with the number 121.

Qazvin Grand Mosque, which is also called Kabir Mosque and Atiq Mosque, is one of the most important attractions of Qazvin province. This mosque, which can be considered as one of the oldest and most beautiful mosques in Iran, is located in Dabaghan neighborhood, which is now called Shohada Street or the former Sepah. In this mosque, architectural works of several periods can be seen and it is said that the oldest part of it, which belongs to the early Islamic centuries, is built on a Sassanid fire temple. Harouni Arch or Ancient Maghsura is the oldest building of the Qazvin Grand Mosque that has been survived. During the Mongol invasion of Qazvin, parts of the mosque, including the south porch, were set on fire and damaged during the Afghan invasion, but were restored in the years that followed. Tourists interested in history and culture get acquainted with the culture and lifestyle of Iran and Islam, art and architecture of different historical periods by visiting this type of building. The inscriptions used in this mosque are one of the turning points in the decoration of this building. These inscriptions are in the form of Thuluth, kufi, naskh, etc. calligraphy, which are engraved in different parts in the form of tiles and plastering. The content of the inscriptions includes Quranic verses, endowment letters, descriptions of the characteristics of the Imams, introduction of good people, actions of the governor of Qazvin, etc.

History of Qazvin Grand Mosque

As mentioned, the first part of the Qazvin Grand Mosque, which is the Harouni Arch, was built in 808 by the order of Harun Al-Rasheed on the remains of a fire temple. This part is in the form of a small domed building made of large raw bricks and mud. It is said that Harun al-Rasheed was not alone in building this mosque, and two other people named Qazi Abu al-Hassan Muhammad ibn Zakaria and Sahib ibn al-Abbas ibn Sarih also participated in the foundation and restoration of the mosque. Then in the following years, renovations and additions were done on it. Between 1107 and 1116, Amir Khomar Tash Ibn Abdullah Ebadi, the minister of the Seljuk sultan, ordered the construction of a double-walled brick dome, a courtyard, a school, a monastery, a chapel and a hangar on the south side of the mosque. Most changes were made to the Qazvin Grand Mosque during the Safavid dynasty. During this period, large sections, including porches, minarets and arches, were added to it. There are three porches in the north, west and south of the mosque, which date back to the Safavid era. During the reign of Shah Tahmasb Safavid, the north porch and tiled minarets were added to the mosque building, and during the reign of Shah Abbas II, the south porch was connected to the entrance of the mausoleum. Finally, the western porch was built in the mosque by the order of Shah Suleiman Safavid.
The eastern porch of the mosque belongs to the Qajar period and was built between 1894 and 1895 at the order and expense of Mirza Ali Khan Atabak and by Baqer Khan Saad al-Saltanah, the governor of Qazvin. The courtyard of the south porch and the basement or underground nave were also built by Saad al-Saltanah on the south side of the mosque in the same years, and Hajj Mohammad Ali, one of the merchants of Qazvin, built a portico in the south of the west porch in 1901.

Architecture of Qazvin Grand Mosque

The architecture of Qazvin Grand Mosque is beautiful and unique in its kind. This mosque had several doors in the thirteen century, but now this mosque has two doors, one in the east and the other in the northwest. The Grand Mosque has courtyards with large porches. On both sides of each porch, there are porticos on which the name of the Imam of the congregation at the time before the mosque prayer is clear. Among the southern porticos, there are two plateaus, one of which is the Haruniyeh arch and the other is known as the Ahmadiyya arch or the Hallaj arch. The south porch is the most important porch of the mosque, which is considered as a unique building in terms of grandeur, height of the building, structure and decorations. The beautiful dome of the mosque and its minarets and courtyards show the best Islamic and traditional architecture. This turquoise dome and high minarets and tiles of Qazvin Grand Mosque dazzle every eye. In addition to the aesthetic aspect, these minarets also make the building stronger. Another important feature of Qazvin Grand Mosque is the existence of 8 naves and an underground nave. In May 2013, the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Qazvin Province, while repairing the western minaret, inaugurated the Grand Mosque of the Museum of Stone and Pottery in the western nave of this historic mosque. In this museum, all kinds of pottery, lithographs, sash, tiles and all kinds of plastering are exhibited. To visit this beautiful mosque and its rich museum, you can join my Persian trips tourism group.

 

 

Tags: Attractions of Qazvin province, Qazvin province

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