Great Mosque of the Masjid-i-Jami Isfanhan, Iran 1088 Essay

Great Mosque of the Masjid-i-Jami Isfanhan, Iran 1088 - Essay Example The capital city was planned to be near the Friday mosque and due to Seljuks rich authoritative powers, they situated the city to the northern side of the mosque. Figure 1: The Masjid-i Jami, Isfahan According to Oleg (1990), the present mosque was rebuilt again after the destruction by earthquake and fire. It was begun by the Ghurid ruler between 1162 and1202. The mosque was constructed to bring forth the present appearance and design on how to construct mosques. This mosque has been of great concern since there has come times when the mosque was to be demolished by fire from the capture by the Tughril Beg. This capture was accompanied by riot and religious conflicts which led to the destruction of the building before it reconstruction. There were two sects in the riots which included the Hanafite and the Shafi'ite. These riots were the cause of fire which destroyed the ornamental look of the great building. During its construction the mosque was planned and the structure was to be rectangular, inner diameter of a length of 65 meters and a width of 55 meters. There are walls which are used for prayers and cover a large area with several bays. To the west are 7 bays. 4 bays are in the southern side of the mosque and 3 bays to the North West (Oleg, 1990). There are also additional four chambers to the existing bays. The mosque fits the city settings with variety of gates and entrances which allows mass entrance within a short time. The mosque covers a speculated area distinct from the city square. It fits the requirements in construction of a mosque which ensures that it should cover its special area distinct from the main city. The mosque has been the visual landmark to the city of Isfahan with large domes to the northern and the southern side of it. The other neighboring buildings are situated in a manner to show that they give space to the holy mosque. Recently, they have situated a gate to the south eastern side of the mosque. There is an inscription to the space between the building and the gate which mentions Muzaffarid sultan Mahmud who used to rule isfanhan during the year of 1358 to1374.There is another gate to the south which mentions abbas rule and this was designed in the year 1590.A northern gate which is no longer in use describes the eternal rest from Quranic Surah 76 which was constructed in 1366 (Oleg, 1990). A unique forth gate is designed which is no longer in use. It is decorated using bricks unlike the other gates which are colored and has attractive tiles. This gate explains how the mosque was reconstructed after its destruction with fire in the year 1121. The mosque court is well decorated with colored tiles of variety of colors which are; blue, yellow, white and other dark colors. This shows how the residents are united and the degree of harmonious relationships within that area. Bunce (2008) asserts that there are screens installed in the four courts on the passage way of the mosque leading to the sacred places of worship. The doomed chamber has also been constructed with an area of 15 side meters and a height of 30 meters. It was the work of architect Abul fath who did this after the fire tragedy. The southern dome carries inscription of the famous Abu Malik Shah and Nizam al-Mulk.