
Tarikhaneh Temple is one of the oldest mosques in Iran. This historical monument dates back to the second century AH.
Tarikhaneh Temple also is known as the Tarikhaneh Mosque. It considered as the oldest mosque after the Jameh Mosque of Fahraj in Iran. This old monument is placed in south of Damghan, Semnan province. Due to the studies of archaeologists, Tarikhaneh was a fire temple before the Arab conquest. The fire temple has been turned to the mosque during the time.
It is interesting to know about the meaning of Tarikhaneh. This word is made of two parts, Tari and Khaneh, which means the house of God. Tari in Turkish means God, and the equivalent of Khaneh in English is a house. The old name of it was Narikhaneh, which means the house of fire. Moreover, Tarikhaneh was known as Chehel-Sotoun Mosque, because it had a lot of columns.
Damghan is locating in the Semnan province with a hot climate. You will experience visiting desert, mountain, and forest in this province. Because of the hot climate of this region the best time to visit the Tarikhaneh Temple is during fall and early spring.
Tarikhaneh Temple is located on the Rahahan-Station Street, south of Damghan, Semnan province. You can go to the Basij Square then get Tarikhaneh Temple. It is a six-minute walk from the Basij Square through Shahid Mottahari. Moreover, you can reach there as following map:
“Oh! Squander not this breath that Heaven hath lent thee, Nor make too sure another breath to borrow!’” Khayam