Masjed-e Jāmé of Isfahan World Heritage Site

Official name

Masjed-e Jāmé of Isfahan | UNESCO

Country

Iran | Map

Continent

Asia

Location

32.6697° Lat, 51.6852° Lon | Map

Code

1397

Time Zone

Asia/Tehran (+0330, +0330)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 2012. Located in the historic centre of Isfahan, the Masjed-e Jāmé (‘Friday mosque’) can be seen as a stunning illustration of the evolution of mosque architecture over twelve centuries, starting in ad 841. It is the oldest preserved edifice of its type in Iran and a prototype for later mosque designs throughout Central Asia. The complex, covering more than 20,000 m 2 , is also the first Islamic building that adapted the four-courtyard layout of Sassanid palaces to Islamic religious architecture. Its double-shelled ribbed domes represent an architectural innovation that inspired builders throughout the region. The site also features remarkable decorative details representative of stylistic developments over more than a thousand years of Islamic art.