Kashan Jameh Mosque is one of the most valuable historical buildings in the city, which is about 800 years old and has long been of interest to people and tourists. The Jameh Mosque, also known as the Kashan Friday Mosque, is a remnant of pre-Islamic and Seljuk rule in Iran. At that time, the official religion of the people was Zoroaster and this mosque was used as a fire place or fire temple, but with the emergence and spread of Islam in Iran, it has become a mosque.
There is no exact information about the founder of this beautiful building and its construction date. However, in some historical books, Safia Khatoon, the daughter of Malik Ashtar, is mentioned as the builder of this building. In 1192 AH, due to the devastating earthquake, the mosque was severely damaged and almost destroyed.
In historical sources, Karim Khan Zand and Abdul Razzaq Khan are mentioned as the founders of the reconstruction of Kashan Jameh Mosque. In this earthquake, Karim Khan Zand brought construction workers from Isfahan and other cities to Kashan to speed up the reconstruction of the city and the mosque. Under the dome of the mosque is an inscription in the Sols line which shows that the reconstruction of the mosque lasted until 1207 AH. The mosque consists of a large courtyard with a brick dome under which a very high porch is located and two naves, one summer and one winter and a pool house.
The main porch is decorated with very exquisite tiles. In the courtyard of the mosque, your eyes will fall on a tall brick minaret. This minaret, which is a relic from the Seljuk era, is the third oldest minaret in Iran and is among the historical minarets of Isfahan. On this minaret, there is a brick inscription that shows the year 466 AH.
The mosque has a brick dome with a mausoleum and a high porch below it and includes a large courtyard, two large naves and a lower nave on the north side and a basin in the middle. The name of the king and his minister, Khajeh Nizam al-Mulk Tusi, is also mentioned in the inscription on the dome that covers the nave and the main altar. The height of the main porch, which is located on the west side of the mosque, is 13.8 meters at the highest point and 11.2 meters at the same level as the roof.
Archaeologists have unearthed artifacts and ornaments dating back to the Al-Buwayhid period in recent excavations of the mosque’s altar beds. The summer nave of the mosque is located under its winter nave and its tiling designs are very beautiful. In the past, traces of cooking ovens have been discovered by cultural heritage experts from the floor of this nave, and they believe that the mosque dates back to the early Islamic period.
Kashan Jameh Mosque is the center of the largest and oldest religious committee in the city called “Hazrat Abolfazl Board” with a hundred years old. This mosque was registered in 1315 with the registration number 252 in the list of national monuments of Iran. If you travel to Kashan, be sure to visit the city’s Jameh Mosque, which is a relic of the Seljuk era, and see the architecture and beauty of the mosques of that period up close.
Kashan Jameh Mosque is located in Baba Afzal Street, Kashan, in a neighborhood called Old Square. Access to this building is possible by public transport, but tourists to access the address of Kashan Grand Mosque, in addition to public transport can use a private car, as well as tourist services and hotel tours.
