The Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn ( fa, مسجد جامع نایین – ''Masjid-e-Jāmeh Nā'īn'') is the grand,

congregational mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.* * * * * * * ...

(Jāmeh) of Nā'īn city, within Isfahān Province of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. Although the mosque is one of the oldest in

, it is still in use and is protected by

Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization ( fa, وزارت میراث فرهنگی، گردشگری و صنایع دستی ایران, ''Vâzart-e Miras-e Ferhengi-ye, Gârdâshigâri-ye vâ Sânai'-ye Dâsti-ye Iran'') is ...

. This mosque is perhaps one of the oldest mosques in Iran, and despite being built hundreds of years ago it still preserves its original architecture.

Arthur Pope Arthur Upham Pope (February 7, 1881 – September 3, 1969) was an American scholar, art historian, and architecture historian. He was an expert on historical Persian art, and he was the editor of the ''Survey of Persian Art'' (1939). Pope was also ...

believed that the mosque foundation goes back to 9th century. It has a very simple plan but is still very beautiful. The mosque contains a central rectangular courtyard that is surrounded with

hypostyle In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or un ...

s on three sides. At one of these hypostyles the

mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...

of the mosque is located. The mihrab at Islamic mosque is a niche at wall that shows the direction of "Qebleh" that is the direction of Mecca the holy city that Muslims prays towards it five times daily. This mihrab has an amazingly beautiful stucco work decoration, created probably during the 9th or 10th century. Also right beside it, there as an altar made of wood with delicate wooden inlay work. The Mosque also has a 28-meter-high minaret belonging to the Seljuk era,10th century.

Specifications

The mosque is one of the oldest in

, dating back to the 9th century. The interiors however are Seljuki in brick craftsmanship, and therefore allude to the 11th century. Like the ''Tarikhaneh of

Damghan Damghan ( fa, دامغان, translit=Dāmghān) is the capital of Damghan County, Semnan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 57,331, in 15,849 families. It is situated east of Tehran on the high-road to Mashad, at an elevatio ...

'' and the ''

Jameh Mosque of Isfahan The Jāmeh Mosque of Isfahān or Jāme' Mosque of Isfahān ( fa, مسجد جامع اصفهان ''Masjid-e-Jāmeh Isfahān''), also known as the Atiq Mosque () and the Friday Mosque of Isfahān (), is a historic congregational mosque (''Jāmeh'' ...

'', this mosque is "Khorasani" in its architectural style ().

Gallery

File:Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn-external view.jpg, alt=External View, External View File:Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn-view from minor.jpg, alt=View of courtyard from the top of minar, View of courtyard from the top of minar File:Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn-shabestan-04.jpg, alt=Summer Shabestan, Summer Shabestan File:Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn-Underground Shabestan-1.jpg, alt=Winter Shabestan, Winter Shabestan File:Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn-mehrab-02.jpg, alt=Mihrab, Mihrab File:Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn-minar.jpg, alt=Minar, Minar File:Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn-Mehrab-01.jpg, alt=Mihrab, Mihrab File:Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn-courtyard-2.jpg, alt=Courtyard, Courtyard File:Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn-courtyard-3.jpg, alt=Courtyard, Courtyard File:Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn-1.jpg File:Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn-ornaments-04.jpg, alt=Ornaments, Ornaments

Specifications

Gallery

See also