Visit 800 years of Islamic design in 2 hours

See the wonders of the oldest and the biggest mosque in Iran. See a magnificent Mihrab and magic domes. Listen to the reflection of the sound of “Azaan” and feel the spirit of beauty and magic in Jameh Mosque of Isfahan.

If we name Naqsh-e Jahan square as a reminding monument of the Safavid era, we can name the Jameh mosque of Isfahan, attached to the Grand Bazaar of Isfahan, as a reference for Islamic mosque architecture. This 1000-year-old mosque is the oldest and the biggest mosque in Iran and the first mosque to adopt the four Iwan plan. The mosque has splendid 15th-century mosaics on the sidewalls and four yards each one contrasting another.

It continues to use as a place for prayers. This UNESCO World Heritage site is a representative and outstanding example of Islamic architecture of the Seljuqs, Mongol, and Safavid eras. It was reconstructed and removed several times once due to the conflagration in the 12th century, which destroyed the magnificent library of Khaje Nizam-ol Molk Toosi, and once due to the air raid in the 19th. You can visit this marvelous place from 9 AM to 7 PM. It is also worth paying for a guide, who can show you the tombs, prayer places, and hidden rooms. The entry price for foreign visitors is about 250,000 rials each person. Enjoy this peaceful mosque in the mornings and afternoons.

• The magic domes

  
  On the north and the southern side of the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, there are two mysterious brick domes opposite each other. The two mathematically perfect domes, Nezam al-Molk, and Taj al-Molk have escaped the damage of fire and dozens of earthquakes for over 900 years. Historical sources indicate that Nizam al Mulk, the Seljuk cqliph, copied the Umayyad great mosque of Damascus which had visited in 1086. Walk along the north iwan, and you’ll find a prayer hall with amazing massive pillars. It is where you can find the ribbed double-shelled brick dome of Taj-ol Mulk. An engineering masterpiece, as in Hoag's view it attained a perfection seldom equaled and never surpassed.

• See a wonderful Mihrab

  
  Don’t you ever miss the most beautiful Mihrab in Iran, when you come to visit this mysterious place? There is in the Sultan Uljeitu Shabestan in the northwest of the mosque. This magnificent stucco Mihrab is designed with elaborate muqarnas inscriptions and floral designs. Also, there is the most beautiful dense wooden carved Minbar in this Shabestan. 

•  What is the best time to go?

  
  The whole spring and Fall, April, May, June, October, and November, is the best time to visit Isfahan. 

• Getting there

  • Jame Mosque is placed in Ghiyam Square, Allameh Majlesi Street, Isfahan Province, Iran. You can take a taxi from your hotel which costs you between 120,000 to 250,000 rials. You can also get there by just a 15-minute walk through the Grand Bazaar of Isfahan. Hipersia offers an astonishing two to four-day tour through Isfahan.