Jameh Mosque of Isfahan

About this place

The Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, also known as the Atiq Mosque and the Friday Mosque, is a historic congregational mosque in Isfahan, among the largest and most important monuments of Islamic architecture in Iran. UNESCO listed it in 2012. Its walls form a full record of the growth of Iranian architecture, so you read more than a thousand years on one visit, far more calmly than at the square. It is the result of constant building, rebuilding and additions on the site from about 771 to the late 20th century. The first mosque here rose under the Abbasids. The Seljuks added brick domes counted among the great achievements of their time, and Mongols, Safavids and Qajars added further layers. The Grand Bazaar lies near its south-west wing. You enter a broad courtyard with four iwans in differing decoration, then walk deep brick halls where the forms of the vaults change from one to the next and light comes through small openings. A small wing holds a very fine stucco mihrab from the Mongol period. It is less ornate than the mosques on the square, yet its beauty lies in the honesty of the brick. It is about 1.6 km in a straight line from Naqsh-e Jahan Square, and you can walk there through the bazaar. Dress modestly, women should cover their hair, and avoid prayer times. The UK Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to Iran and warns that British nationals risk detention, so check official guidance before making any plans. We could not confirm the current state of this site.