Marvelous mosque in the heart of the Holy Shrine

The Goharshad mosque is one of the interesting places in the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza. Because of its traditional architectural style, elegant carving, gorgeous tiles, and grandeur dome, the mosque becomes a tourist destination of Mashhad city.

The mosque was built by Ghavameddin Shirazi, one of the famous Iranian architectures, by order of Empress Goharshad in 1418 CE. The Goharshad mosque is located in the south of the Imam Reza shrine. This ancient mosque is an outstanding sample of Iranian art and includes features of traditional architecture.

The mosque contains eight porches which one is on the south side of the mosque, is the most glorious, and was named Maghsure Iwan. There is an excellent Inscription on Maghsure Iwan’s walls which has been made by Goharshad’s son. Also, the structure date of the mosque is mentioned in it. The sanctuary, which has an elegant carving and an inscription on it, was made out of marble, and it represents the specific style of art related to that era. The wooden Minbar, which was made out of walnut and pear wood, is one of the remarkable elements in the Iwan because of its stunning woodcarvings and lack of nails in its structure. You can add them to the fascinating aspects of this mosque. It was made by Mohammad Khorasani in the Qajar dynasty. Due to the specific features and the age of the Minbar, it was named Sahib-al-zaman (the promised prophet for the Shias) Minbar. The name of Gosharshad was written on a Moaraq tile with a unique design, and the mosque was decorated with gorgeous tiles on the north porch.

Many disasters and human activities cause a lot of damage to the Goharshad Mosque during the time, like an earthquake that destroyed some parts of Maghsure Iwan. Some damages occurred to the dome and Iwans after the attack of Russian, but all of them have been repaired. There is an amusing story about an old woman. when Goharshad intended to buy a piece of land to build the structure of the mosque, but she refused to sell her cottage. The cottage is placed in the middle of the mosque. Goharshd did not force the old woman to sell her cottage because she was a just woman. So, the little house remained among the construction operations. The conflict between them was over when the old woman decided to sell her house provided that, you name this part of the mosque after my name, so Goharshad agreed to her condition. Currently, there is a pool in the middle of the Goharshad Mosque where it was her house in the past and named as “Old Woman Mosque”. Please note that the tourists can visit the Imam Reza shrine, but they should ask for a leader when they want to enter, and Non-Muslims are not allowed to visit the Goharshad mosque and the main shrine.

• What is the best time to go?
  Nowruz and special religious occasions are the best time to visit the Goharshad Mosque, but there isn’t any time limit to visit there, so pilgrims and tourists can get there any time.

• Getting there?
  The Goharshad Mosque is located in Mashhad city, East of Iran. There are two main directions to get there. The first direction is the fastest route via Imam Reza Blvd. It takes about 15 minutes from the entrance of the city. The other direction takes about 30 minutes via E-Onsori. 
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