Visit Tabriz Friday Mosque During Your Travel to Iran
Visit Tabriz Friday Mosque During Your Travel to Iran
Tabriz Friday Mosque is one of the largest structures built with bricks in Iran. It dates back to the Il-Khanid period and was constructed by AliShah, who was the vizier in the court of Oljeitu and Abu Sa'id. The ruins of the structure suggest that there was a huge courtyard in the mosque with four ivans around it. It was quite traditional in design with no domed structure as the main mosque building. Instead, the mihrab was kept in the properly grandiose ivans, thus eliminating the need for another structure.
Description of the Layout
The layout of Tabriz Friday Mosque is centered on a huge courtyard that was paved with marble. It was about 229 meters by 286 meters in area. A pishtaq on the north side of the courtyard ushers you in toward the main ivan in the southern wall, located near the qibla.
There are two more ivans in the center of the western and eastern sides. When you travel to this part of Iran, you can see the mihrab, located toward the middle of the existing qibla wall. There are three arches on top of it. Two windows can be seen on both sides of the mihrab but at a very great height.
The Pool
The square pool in the middle of the huge courtyard of Tabriz Friday Mosque was placed on a raised platform with an eight-sided fountain in it. There were four lions constructed in the fountain with water spouting out in all the four main directions. Stone-vaulted arcade made up the walls in the courtyard with the columns being made of alabaster. The pool was further decorated with trees in each corner of the square.
Remains of the Structure
The walls of Tabriz Friday Mosque were quite strong and sturdy and built of brick. The surface was kept simple with just the qibla wall being curved at the corners. The mihrab had a rounded bastion behind it. The mihrab was situated at a distance of 65.5 meters away from the portal with the ivan vault being 48 meters deep and 30.5 meters wide.
This vault is no longer present now. There were also 2 other minarets and a khanqah and madrasah attached to the mosque, which you will no longer find during your travel to Iran.