Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque

Sheikh Lotfollah mosque is situated in Nagsh-e Jahan square and was constructed by master Mohammadreza Isfahani by order of first king Abbass for the honor of “Sheikh lotfollah Jebel Ameli”, the king’s father in law. It was actually the private mosque for the king and his family and there was a hidden way from it to Ali Qapu in the past.

As Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque has no towers and no entrance yard, its architecture is strange and different with other mosques. The calligraphy of entrance framework is by master Alireza Abbasi, in “Sols” and the inside calligraphies are by Bagher Banna, an infamous calligrapher.

The entrance two-part door is wholly made of Plane wood which is quite well after 400 years! one of the master architectures of this mosque is that the entrance has 45 degrees to the main building but you can’t recognize this angle difference from outside! This angle difference is compensated with a corridor full of amazing blue and green tiling arts.

After this corridor you will arrive to the main hall under the dome with height of 32 meters from ground. This dome due to its elegance and master arts is one of the best and most beautiful domes in Iran architecture. The masterpiece of this dome is a peacock feathers stencil forming a bright peacock picture at its top center at mid days!

The walls are so thick especially at the base (2 meters) to tolerate the weight of this edifice and as it goes higher the thickness reduces. There are 16 lattice windows around the dome base to bring light into the mosque hall. Louise I.kahn, the famous Swiss tourist says about this mosque: ” I can only create this art with ink of gold and silver in my dreams!”