The Fakhr-ol-dowleh Mosque (; ) also known as the Fakhr Mosque, originally named as the Amin-ol-dowleh Mosque (), is a

Shi'ite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

on Fakhrabad Street in the Shemiran Gate neighborhood of

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, in the province of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The mosque was designed by Nikolai Markov and completed in 1949 CE. Princess Fakhr-ol-Dowleh, a daughter of

Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar (; 23 March 1853 – 3 January 1907) was the fifth Qajar shah of Iran, reigning from 1896 until his death in 1907. He is often credited with the creation of the Persian Constitution of 1906, which he approved of in ...

, was the founder of the mosque and named it after her father-in-law, Amin-ol-dowleh. However, the mosque now bears the name of its founder. Some minor and major changes were made to the building over the years, and some parts of it have been damaged due to the construction in the front of the building, and the passing of subway trains from the nearby Darvazeh Shemiran Metro Station. The mosque was added to the Iran National Heritage List on 16 October 2004, administered by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran.

History

In 1945, Fakhr-ol-Dowleh, who was married to Amin-ol-Dowleh junior, son of Mirza Ali Khan Amin-ol-Dowleh, decided to build a mosque named after Mirza Ali Khan in front of her house. However, the name of the mosque, and the neighborhood it's located in, changed to Fakhr-ol-Dowleh over time. She appointed Russian architect Nikolai Markov, one of the most notable architects in Iran at the time, to design and build the mosque. Construction of the building took four years to complete.

Ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

Haj Mirza Khalil Kamarah'i served as

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

at the mosque for over thirty years.

Architecture

Built during the

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

Pahlavi era, the mosque design is a combination of the

Qajar The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic origin,Cyrus Ghani. ''Iran an ...

and Persian architectural styles visible in its original geometry and composition, based on a plan of

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

temples. The building

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

consists of bricks and

marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of wood veneer, veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns or designs. The technique may be applied to case furn ...

mosaics and the half-octagonal-shaped entrance has four small

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

s on each corner. The main structure consists of a cube-shaped main building with two shabestans inside. The

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

of the building originally wasn't very high; the current taller dome was built in subsequent years. Some parts of the current structure, such as the taller dome, added ayeneh-kari inside the mosque, and the women's section in the front yard, were added to the building later.

Damage to the building

In January 2011, a historic building near the Fakhr-ol-Dowleh Mosque, named the Building of Flags, considered the first

apartment hotel An apartment hotel or aparthotel (also residential hotel or extended-stay hotel) is a serviced apartment complex that uses a hotel-style booking system. It is similar to renting an apartment, but with no fixed contracts and occupants can "check ...

in Iran, was due to be registered on the National Heritage List. This building was demolished before the registration in order to build a new commercial complex. Part of the construction site for the high-rise complex impinged on the front of the historic mosque, even though construction of structures higher than adjacent to registered historic and heritage buildings is forbidden by regulations for the protection of the cultural heritage in Iran. Also, subway trains pass under the mosque every two minutes. The tremors caused by passing trains have cracked the dome of the mosque, and some mosaics on the facade have fallen off the walls.

Notes

References

External links