The Royal mosque is the masterpieces of architecture, tilework and carpentry, and was built in the seventeenth century. It is situated on the south side of Naghsh-e Jahan square and opposite the Qeysarieh portal entrance. Its construction coincided with the 24th year of reign of Shah Abbas, in 1611 and took eighteen years to be complete. The great master of tile working Ali Akbar Isfahani finished the mosque in the last year of Shah Abbas reign, however, the decoration of the mosque completed after his death.
There are some stories about the construction of this Mosque, the most famous of which is that Shah Abbas was in a hurry and ordered the construction of mosque to finish quickly. However, the architect rejected Shah’s order and went into hiding. The Angered king ordered search parties to find the architect. However, no matter how much they tried, they could not find the architect. Years passed, the mosque was left unfinished, and no one could understand the complexity of his work, but suddenly the architect returned. He appeared in front of the king and explained that the mosque needed to be left for a time to subside but since he knew the king’s haste, he had to run away. The king understood his reasoning and pardoned him.
It is situated on the south side of Naghsh-e Jahan square and opposite the Qeysarieh portal entrance. Its construction coincided with the 24th year of reign of Shah Abbas, in 1611 and took eighteen years to be complete.
The whole mosque is covered with a style of tiling known as seven-colored tiles. The royal mosque is based on four-iwan plan with the southern iwan being 33 m high with two flanking minarets that each are 48 meters. Southern iwan is usually the most lavishly decorated part of Iranian mosque and leads to the main Mihrab. The dome stands on southern iwan and is decorated by blue tiles and white calligraphy. The dome is 52 m high with a diameter of 21 m. It is the largest double cased dome of Isfahan, the space of the two layers of dome is about 13 meter and has the function of a traditional echo system. The Royal Mosque Also has two symmetrical prayer halls that are located on the southwest and southeast and two schools at eastern and western sides, which are named Naseri and Soleimaniyeh.
The portal entrance is designed with muqarnas and flanking arcades, with two minarets that are each 42-meter. The mosque entrance faces north, because the shape of Naqsh-e Jahan Square required such angle, but to get the direction to match the Kiblah two corridors were built that caused a detour around the north iwan through and lead to courtyard. The simple architectural trick both solved the problem of Kiblah and also added to the beauty of Mosque. The magnificent Mosque was used by the royal family and befitted their station; it is one of the most beautiful examples of Safavid architecture and decoration.
