Al-Nabi Mosque, Qazvin

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The al-Nabi mosque (Masjed al-Nabi in Persian) also known as Masjed e Soltani is a famous mosque in Qazvin.

The mosque has an area of about 14,000m². Inscriptions indicate Fath Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty to be the founder of the mosque, however sources indicate the mosque to have been existing since the Safavid period.

In particular, it is now believed that the architect of the structure was Ustad Mirza Shirazi with the date 1787 as date of construction.

It's double layered dome measures 15m in inner-diameter, with the top of the inner layer positioned at 20.83m above ground level, while the external apex is 23.25m high.

There formerly used to be an elevated minaret flanking the dome to which the French explorer Madame Dieulafoy has written of. The mosque has four iwans in its courtyard.

The portal contains an inscription in Nastaligh script calligraphy dated 1787 CE. Similar to Qazvin's Masjed e Jame (Congregation Mosque), this mosque has a shabestan that is now used as a library.

[edit] References

• Mimaran-i Iran, by Zohreh Bozorg-nia, 2004, ISBN 964-7483-39-2

[edit] See also

• Iranian architecture
• Islamic architecture