The holy shrine of Fatima Masoumeh is one of the most important religious places in Iran, located in Qom.

Fatima Masumeh, the sister of Imam Reza, the eighth Shiite Imam, passed away on her travel to Iran once visiting her brother, she was buried in Qom.

The holy shrine of Fatima Masoumeh is one of the most important religious places in Iran, located in Qom. Masoumeh is the sister of Imam Reza, the 8th Shiite Imam, who passed away on her way to visit her brother. In the 9th century, Lady Fatima Masumeh and some of Imam Reza’s followers started a journey to Khorasan, where Imam Reza was spending his days in exile. On the road, Lady Masumeh got sick and passed away in Qom in a place known as Balan Garden.

In different eras, different constructs were built over the grave of Lady Fatima Masumeh, which all are a proof of the Iranian’s devotion to the descendants of the Prophet of Islam. When the Seljuq kings had the throne, Amir Abulfazl Araghi, made a domed mausoleum that was decorated with stucco and tile works.

The dome was about 14 meters tall. The shrine is filled with magnificent tiles and inscriptions and has an area of about 13.527 m2. It includes sections such as courtyard, iwan, mosque, school and women section.

The main courtyard of the place is known as Atigh and the Iwan of the courtyard was built at the time of Shah Ismail during Safavid Empire and later it was completed by his daughter. The Eastern and Western sections of the place, however, were added by the order of Fath Ali Shah, the second Qajar King. There are 14 halls (iwan) in this place, representing the 14 Shiite Imams, which are lavishly decorated with the best form of tile work and each one has a name

Feyzieh School on the northern part of the courtyard is a four-Iwan mosque with about 200 rooms (Hojreh) and it was built at the time of Safavid Kings, although it was completed in the Qajar’s Era when the southern Iwan was built. Shah Abbas the Second, Shah Soleyman (Solomon), Shah Safi and Shah Sultan Hossein of Safavid era and Fath Ali Shah and Mohammad Shah of Qajar dynasty were all buried here.

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Photo by Nicola e Pina via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

The Monastery of Saint Thaddeus located in Chaldiran County, West Azerbaijan province is one of the most famous and most visited Armenian churches in Iran. The monastery is known as Gharah Klisa or Gharah Church among locals. Gharah in Azari means black referring to the black stones of the structure. This church built originally in 68 CE is the tomb of Thaddeus who was martyred in Armenia in 66 CE. However, the Monastery of St. Thaddeus was destroyed and rebuilt in different historical periods.

For example, Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire (1259-1355 CE), and his grandson Hulagu Khan destroyed a large part of this structure. Later in 1319, Khaje Nasir al-Din Tosi, the minster of Hulagu, rebuilt it. The monastery was also rebuilt by the order of Shah Abbas the first to support Armenians who sought refuge inside Iran. The decorations of the structure were later enhanced by the order of Abbas Mirza, the crown prince of Fath Ali Shah, the second king of the Qajar Dynasty (1796-1925).

In 1691, the façade of the monastery was adorned with black stones and in 1810, white stones were added to the structure by Simon Beznoni, the Maku’s bishop and Father Superior of the monastery. Importantly, along with two other Armenian monuments in West Azerbaijan province (the Monastery of Saint Stepanos and the Chapel of Dzordzorthe), the Monastery of Saint Thaddeus was inscribed on the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2008.

Every year in late Tir (the first month of summer) and the first day of Mordad (the second month of summer), coinciding with the murder of St. Thaddeus, a large group of Armenians visit the monastery and hold a ceremony in his honor.

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Menar Jonban, meaning Shaking Minaret, is a masterpiece of Iranian architecture in Isfahan’s Karladan neighborhood. The history of this monument goes back to the Ilkhanid era (1259–1355 CE) during the end of Oljeitu’s reign when it was built as a shrine for Amoo Abdollah, a famous 14th-century mystic. The tomb of the shrine consists of a marble stone ornamented with bas-reliefs and Sols inscriptions in Arabic letters reflecting the Yassin Surah of the Quran.

The inscriptions of the construction, in particular, have remained from the 14^th century during the time of Muhammad Khudai Bandeh who was the eighth Ilkhanid king. This building is also ornamented with Azure tiles in the form of Four-Feather Stars and also turquois polygon-shapes. The structure consisted of a 10-meter tall brick Iwan adorned with tile works, above the tomb.

A spiral staircase leading up to the roof where there are two minarets are other main parts of the shrine. These minarets with a height of 7.5 meters as the main feature of the structure were added at the time of the Safavid Dynasty (1501-1736). Interestingly, when one of the minarets is shaken by the human force, the other is affected and starts shaking as well. The reason behind this swinging feature has remained an enigma and it has yet to be answered. However, a couple of theories have been presented, one in particular referring to the Doppler Effect.

This theory known also as Resonance theory is introduced by Christian Doppler, an Austrian mathematician and physicist who believes the change in frequency of a wave affects the observer. In this case, the observer is one of the minarets that is affected by the other one. Given that the minarets are light and similar to each other, when one of them is shaken, the other is influenced accordingly. There are architectural structures in other countries that have the ability to shake but in contrast to Menar Jonban, in none of them, the shaking effect can be transferred from one architectural part to another part.

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The Mausoleum of Seyed Mir Ahmad Ibn Moussa Alkazem, the brother of Imam Reza as the eighth Shiite Imam is known as the Shah Cheragh Mausoleum located in Shiraz City. Because of the high position of the mausoleum, it attracts a large number of Muslims who make a pilgrimage to one of the descendants of the prophet of Islam.

The holly Shah Cheragh lived at the time of the Caliph Ma’mun of Abbasid clan. When he left the capital for Khorasan Province to meet his brother Imam Reza, many of his Shiite Muslim followers accompanied him. The number of parties accompanying him on the way of Khorasan even grew as he passed through one city to another.

This scared the Caliph believing that they are gathering an army to riot against him.

The Caliph ordered the governors of most important cities of the ways through which the crowd was passing to halt Shah Cheragh and his followers. This made the governor of Shiraz City order to his soldiers to attack and kill the crowd.

For a long time after this massacre, nobody even knew where Shah Cheragh was buried until the burial site was finally found during the reign of Atabak Abu-Bakr Sa’d Ibn Zangi (the 1130s CE). According to historical myths, an old woman saw a light flickering from a far place every night.  Given that the light did not stop, she informed other villagers of the light and they contacted the authorities accordingly.

Atabak Abu-Bakr investigated the matter but when he was awaiting the light to appear, he went to sleep. He dreamt that the light was emitting from the place where Shah Cheragh and his followers were buried and so when waked up, he ordered the construction of a mausoleum for this pious man at that place

The mausoleum includes an entrance Iwan leading to the inside of the building where there is a domed chamber surrounded by four big halls (Shah Neshin). The door of the entrance Iwan is known as Zel-ol-Sultan meaning the sultan’s shadow. The door was decorated formerly with silver but was later replaced with an enameled door by Isfahan’s masters, while the old door was moved to the Astaneh Museum. There is also a mosque behind the mausoleum on the west side.

In addition to two main doors, the mausoleum has two side doors, one of which opens to the Haji Bazaar and the other to the Atique or Jam-e Mosque. The importance of this mausoleum among Muslims has led all the rulers of Shiraz to develop it ranging from making a dome to enhancing the decorations.

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Ali Ibn Mussa Reza, known as Imam Reza is the eighth Shiite Imam who was martyred in 818 by Ma’mun, the caliph of the time, given that he feared the increasing power and popularity of the Imam. His body was buried in the mausoleum of Harun ol Rashid, the third Abbasid Caliph. This place then turned into a pilgrimage center and different rulers in the course of history tried to improve and glorify it, indicating the importance of Imam among Iranians.

The Samanid rulers (819-999) were the first to start a series of changes in the area, leading to the development of the city. However, in this period, the shrine did not extend. Daylamite, on the contrary, paid only attention to the shrine such that they repaired it completely. For example, they improved the decorations of the place drastically, added residential units to the garden of the shrine, and built a strong fortification around Mashhad City. Such measures ensured, to a great extent, the security of the place.

During the Ghaznavid Dynasty (977-1186), following the order of Mahmoud Ghaznavi, the main building of the shrine was repaired and several bazaars were built around it. In the Seljuk Dynasty (1037-1194), king Sultan Sanjar with his minister Sharaf al-Qomi ordered the construction of a dome over the shrine and also restoration of its damages. About a century later, Mohammad Kharazmshah ordered the decoration of the shrine with striking tiles that came to be known as Sanjar tile. At the present time, the remnant of these periods’ tiles is on display in the museum of the shrine.

In the 13th century, Mongols attacked various parts of Iran, leading to looting the town and murdering people. However, in the aftermath of the Mongols’ attacks, surprisingly, the shrine was left with minimal damages. During the Timurid Dynasty (1370-1507) as the descendants of Mongols, following Shahrukh Mirza’s efforts for the prosperity of Mashhad, and by the suggestion of his wife, Goharshad, a majestic mosque was built in the southern part of the shrine’s courtyard.

The mosque was named Goharshad since she played an important part in its construction. In the Safavid Period (1501-1736) as a state following the Twelver Shiite sect, much was added to the shrine. In this period, the tradition of gilding holy places started and thus, replacing the former brick and tile works of the Imam Reza Shrine’s dome with gold-coated bricks.

Shah Abbas also commanded to cover the rest of the shrine with gold and copper and to add more sections, an order that took more than 100 years to be implemented and so, the king could not see the outcome as he passed away sooner. The newly added sections in this period include courtyards, northern, western, and eastern Iwans, portals, chambers, and Allah Verdi Khan portico.

When Nader Shah of Afsharid Dynasty (1736- 1796) became the king of Iran and started a series of battles in the neighboring countries especially India, the country became richer. As a devoted follower of Islam, he ordered that two Iwans and the northern minaret to be gilded and the frescos of the place to be renovated. During the reign of Fath Ali Shah of the Qajar Dynasty (1789-1925), new sections were also added to the construct, including a courtyard named Freedom, the western Iwan was gilded, and a Ravagh (porch-like construct) named Dar ol Sa’ada literary meaning the House of Happiness.

At the time of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (reign: 1941-1978), the governor of Khorasan Razavi Province developed the shrine. To this end, the gilded bricks were repaired, many of the old buildings were converted, and new constructs were added as well. The Riyadh mosque (the women’s mosque), back porch, Saqa Khaneh, and the former candelabrum were among the new sections. After the Islamic Revolution of 1978, the interior of the shrine’s main dome including its basis developed significantly so as to strengthen the dome’s stability.

Furthermore, the Courtyard of the Islamic Republic and the porches of Razavi, Guidance, Kosar, and Imam Khomeini were made, and more broadly, the shrine’s total area increased to 598,657 square meters, turning it to one of the biggest mosques of the world. At the present time, the Imam Reza complex consists of nine courtyards, 26 porches, two museums, four seminaries, a library, a cemetery, the Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, a dining hall, prayer halls, and so forth.

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Seyed Ruh Allah Mostafavi, born on 1902, and known as Sayyid Ruh Allah Mousavi Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini and Imam Khomeini, is the great leader of the Islamic revolution of Iran. He is the first supreme leader of the new regime of Islamic Republic and a Marja or High Priest of Islam. He led the oppositions both when he was in Iran and when he was sent to exile. After overthrowing of the Pahlavi King, a referendum was held putting an Islamic Republic Government into vote.  With the majority of votes, Islamic Republic was chosen and an Islamic Government was established. His significant position in the history of Iran and his popularity among Iranian as the leader of the Revolution has made people to treat him like Imams who are the descendants of the Prophet of Islam.

The Shrine that was made for him has recently been restored and many new sections were added to the complex that represents the ingenuity of Iranian Architecture. The shrine of Imam Khomeini is located in the Behesht Zahra cemetery in Tehran. Lately another extensive collections, including universities, museums and Sun City was built along it.

On general, the complex includes other sections such as Hotel, Mall, Theme Park, Museum, Health City and Sun City. The holly shrine of Imam Khomeini includes 600 thousand square meters, covering an area of ​​one kilometer in length and a width of more than half a kilometer.

The shrine of Imam Khomeini is located in the Behesht Zahra cemetery in Tehran. Lately another extensive collections, including universities, museums and Sun City was built along it.

The massive structure follows the traditional architecture of Iran with the same decoration. There are five main entrance on the eastern and western sides of the place. The main structure is predicted to withstand an earthquake of about 10 Richter in magnitude.

Around the sacred shrine, there are four gilded minarets built as tall as 91 meters. The tombs main hall also has five tiled domes with the main dome being gilded in 2007.

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Khaje Shams El Din Muhammad, also known as Lesan Ol Gheib or Hafez is a renowned Lyric Poet of Iran that lived in 14^th century in Shiraz. He lost his father even before he was born and was sent to learn different sciences from an early age. He was soon captivated by mysticism; today he is known for his knowledge of mysticism and its reflection in his poetry. Hafez has memorized the whole holly book of Quran that is the reason he came to be called Hafez, which literary means the keeper or preserver.

Hafez Mausoleum, Ceiling Decoration of Tomb – Shiraz, Fars Province

When Zands came to throne, and when Shiraz became the Capital of Iran, Karim khan, the Zand ruler, ordered the construction of a mausoleum for the famous poet. The structure of this mausoleum included an Iwan with four strong pillars each made from a one-piece stone. There were two small rooms on either side of the Iwan, with the Mausoleum being on the northern side, overlooking an outstanding garden. By the order of Zand king, a stone was made to be used as the tombstone of the great poem and some lines of his poetry were carved on it.

Karim khan, the Zand ruler, ordered the construction of a mausoleum for the famous poet. The structure of this mausoleum included an Iwan with four strong pillars each made from a one-piece stone.

The marble tombstone was adorned with two of Hafez Ghazals (Lyrics) using the Calligraphy of Haj Aghasi Beyg Afshar. The only thing that remains from the Zand construct is this tombstone. The importance of the great poet among Iranian has made the mausoleum to be a priority of all rulers that tried to keep it from damage and destruction. An attention that sometimes acted as a disadvantage since many rulers destroyed the mausoleum to build one of their own. The mausoleum was restored by the Qajar rulers which was again destroyed and nothing remains of it today.

The current monument was designed by the famous French Architect, André Godard inspired by the architecture of Zand Dynasty. The structure is a platform with eight pillars made of one-piece stones and with a domed ceiling covered in Tilework. The place is one of the main attractions of Shiraz for the beauty of its structure, Hafez place among Iranian and the pleasant atmosphere that is felt there.

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The mausoleum of this great poet that had a tragic death in poverty was made of the finest stones of the time from marble and with the design of the great architect Hossein Lorzadeh. A variety of reasons led to the subsidence of the massive and heavy construct. In 1964, when all the repairing and restorations proved to be futile, the mausoleum was destroyed and replaced with a new monument with stronger foundation.

When Ferdousi died, his body wasn’t buried in the burial ground of the city since he was a Shiite, so he was buried in his garden somewhere near Toos. His grand position in the society attracted many intellectuals to the place. Several times a monument was built over his grave, which each time it was destroyed until in Qajar time, Naser Al Din Shah that heard the situation of the poet’s tomb ordered the construction of a new place over the ruins of the previous one.

Years later, after the World War I, when a sense of nationalism took over the country, Ferdousi became more important than ever. When it was understood that from the Qajar construct just a series of walls and a platform is remained, a collective collaboration was formed to gather enough money to rebuild the mausoleum. With the donations of people, a pyramid shaped tomb was designed that later were rejected for being foreign and was replaced with a design inspired by Pasargadae, Cyrus the Great’s tomb.

It did not take long for the construct to show signs of subsidence for the construction mistakes of the production team, which forced them to demolish and remake the whole construct. The 900 m2 land was dig about 5 m to be used as the foundation of the mausoleum. 24 pillars carry the weight of the first floor and eight pillars carry the weight of the second one. The whole construct follows the traditions of Achaemenian Architecture. Today the construct is a cube made of cement and iron with a marble façade that some lines from Shah Nameh, Ferdousi’s masterpiece, is carved on it.

In 1964, following a sense of nationality that took the society, people donated money to be used in constructing a mausoleum for the great epic poet Ferdowsi that many consider the reason behind the survival of Farsi language after the invasion of Arabs. The mausoleum was inspired by the tomb of Cyrus the Great which proves the importance of the Poet.

The complex where the tomb is part of, includes other sections such as museum and library as well. Adding the importance of the poet himself to the beauty of architecture and the surrounding garden, it is easily understood why the mausoleum is one of the top tourist attractions of Khorasan Razavi.

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Shush or Susa is one of the oldest cities in the world, which is located in Khuzestan province, and was built about 4000 BC. The city has been through much difficulties, and has experienced days of victory and defeat, boom and record, and development and destruction. With the fall of the Achaemenid Empire in 332 AD, it fell on a slide, and in the Middle Ages, it completely lost its prosperity and turned into a small village around the Tomb of Daniel the prophet.

Daniel is one of the Prophets of the Israelites who lived in Babylon in the 7th century BC. Prophet Daniel along with some of his Jewish people immigrated to land of Persia, and gradually resettled in the city of Susa. His descendant goes back to the fourth son of Jacob’s first wife. There is a belief “Nebuchadnezzar” king of Babylon took him into captivity and brought him to Persia. Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and became the messenger sent from God.

The exact time of the Prophet Daniel’s life is unclear, but the last mention of Daniel in the Book of Daniel is in the third year of Achaemenid Cyrus. The exact burial place is also not clear as today six cities claim that the tomb exist there but the most famous one is in Susa. He died at the age of 83, and after being mummified, he was buried somewhere at the east of Shavur river (Shahpoor River).

The Tomb was built in 1833 by the order of the Shiite cleric, Ja’far Shushtari. There was a massive flood in the same year that damaged the tomb, and it had to be reconstructed. This place is famous for its double-layered Pineapple Dome that is not commonly found in Iran. The height of the dome is about 20 meters and its diameter is about 5 meters. It was built in Seljuk period, but apparently, the architects had ancient Persian style of architecture in their mind. The western side of the tomb is decorated with Iranian-Islamic tiles on which its written threshold of the holy prophet Daniel. On the eastern side, there are two minarets dating back to 1911.

In some books the prophet Daniel is referred as the prophet of the rain, some stories say after his death whenever people were in need of rain used to take his mummified body and pray over it for rain and by the grace of God it happened to rain.

“The book of Daniel” is the prophet’s book, which has 12 chapters in Hebrew, mostly talking about the memories of his life, the interoperation of dreams. In the last chapter, the name of a holy person is mentioned that will save the world. Shiites believe that during the presence of Imam Mahdi, four other prophet will accompany him; Daniel will be the commander of his army.

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Photo by S ahmad hc via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

This place is the mausoleum of the great 11th century Persian poet, Baba Taher who is known for his couplets. The main building of the mausoleum is located in a 10 square m platform. It has an octagonal basis with eight pillars that have decorative function rather than a technical one. The pillars and the long room lead to a conical dome. The pillars, the grave stone, and the floor are all made of granite and the main building is covered with white stone.

Photo by Sahar.mirzayi via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

The interior of the place has some beautiful inlayed tiles and 24 couplets by the poet. The construct was made in 1970 and by Mohsen Foroughi over a place with more than 8965 m2 area. The construct is very similar to Avicenna’s mausoleum and consequently to Qabus Dome.

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This place is the mausoleum of the great Persian Scientist Avicenna. The original monument was built in early Qajar Era and by the order of a noble lady named Negar that is said to be Fath Ali Shah’s daughter. The construct was later destroyed, and in 1950, the current monument took its place. The architecture of the place was inspired by the architecture of the time that the great scientist himself lived and after Gonbad-e Qabus which is one of the greatest Islamic constructs of Iran. while the Qabus Dome has 10 sides, this one has 12 sides that each stand for a science that Avicenna was a master of. The height of each of the 12 pillars is about 22.95, and the length of the pillars is about 117 cm in the base and 92 cm near the dome.

The architecture of the place was inspired by the architecture of the time that the great scientist himself lived and after Gonbad-e Qabus which is one of the greatest Islamic constructs of Iran.

The circular base of the mausoleum has a diameter of about 2.05 m and the height of the conical dome is 3.4 m. the whole construct is 28 m with an entrance on the east and an iwan with 30 m length and 3.15 width. A wooden door with a height of about 3.24 is the way of connection to the monuments main room.

There are two graves in this room; one belonging to Avicenna that is around 100 years old and the other is Abu Saeed Dakhdouk that was Avicenna’s friend. Avicenna was a guest in Abu Saeed’s house and lived with him in the place that today is used as their mausoleum. Above the walls, there are 40 marble stones covered with lines from Avicenna’s most famous works. There are other constructs in the garden that the mausoleum is built within; one was turned to a museum and the other to a library. Another important section of the mausoleum is the 3 m statue of Avicenna that was made by Abull Hassan Sedighi from a one-piece marble stone that is placed in the square that leads to the mausoleum.

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Photo by Agha Nader via Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0

The holy Abdol Azim Hasani is one of the descendants of Imam Hassan, the third Shiite Imam, who was martyred in ninth century and was buried in Ray. The shrine built in his memory was made in the time of Seljuk Kings and by the hands of the great master, Majd Ol Molk Baravestany. The shrine includes sections such as Portal Entrance, Ayeneh Iwan (Mirror Iwan), Courtyard, Dome, Mosque, Porch, and Minaret. At first, the dome of the place was a Rok or a conical dome, and had an inscription that dated back to the Seljuk time. It was later restored by the order of Shah Tahmasp, the Safavid King and was gilded in the time of Naser Al Din Shah, the forth Qajar King. Sections such as the portal, Iwan, Porch, and the gold cover of the box were added during the reign of Shah Abbas and Shah Tahmasp of Safavid Dynasty.

The Holly Shrine of Hamza, Imam Reza’s brother and Taher, son of Imam Moussa Kazem are part of this shrine as well. The beautifully carved wooden door of Hamza Shrine is a valuable piece of art with an inscription that dates back to 16^th century; the inscription is in Sols, which is a style of calligraphy.  The Shrine came to attention again at the time of Naser Al Din. It was restored and new decorations were added to the construct. The devotion of this Qajar king to the holly man was so great that he asked to be buried here and today his grave is there.

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