Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque

Nasir al-Mulk Mosque
Nasir al-Mulk Mosque
Religion
Affiliation	Shia Islam
Province	Fars province
Status	Active
Location
Location	Shiraz, Iran
Municipality	Shiraz County
	Shown within Iran
Geographic coordinates	29°36′31″N 52°32′54″E / 29.60861°N 52.54833°E
Architecture
Type	Mosque
Style	Islamic, Iranian architecture
Completed	1888
Website
	http://www.nasirolmolkmosque.com/

The Nasir al-Mulk Mosque (Persian: مسجد نصیرالملک, Masjed-e Nasir ol-Molk), also known as the Pink Mosque (مسجد صورتی, Masjed-e Surati), is a traditional mosque in Shiraz, Iran. It is located near Shāh Chérāgh Mosque. It was built during Qajar dynasty rule of Iran.

The mosque includes extensive coloured glass in its facade, and displays other traditional elements such as the Panj Kāse ("five concaved") design.^[1]

History

The mosque was built during the Qajar dynasty, and is still in use under protection by the Endowment Foundation of Nasir al Molk. Construction began in 1876 by the order of Mirza Hassan Ali Nasir-ol-Mulk, one of the lords and aristocrats of Shiraz, the son of Ali Akbar Qavam al-Mulk, the kalantar of Shiraz and was completed in 1888. The designers were Mohammad Hasan-e-Memār, a Persian architect who had also built the noted Eram Garden before the Nasir al-Molk Mosque, Mohammad Hosseini Shirazi, and Mohammad Rezā Kāshi-Sāz-e-Širāzi.^[2]

Orsi: Persian Stained Glass

The roof of Nasir ol-molk mosque

Although stained glass is mostly popular in churches nowadays, the earliest discovered was in Syria from the 7th century.^{[dubious – discuss]} There is evidence of techniques and recipes for obtaining stained glass by the Persian chemist Jabir ibn Hayyan in his book Kitab al-Durra al-maknuna (The Book of the Hidden Pearl) published in the eighth century CE.^[3] Orsi windows are windows made of a mixture of wood and colorful glass in the Safavid and the Qajar dynasties. Orsi differs from stained glass used in many churches and Ottoman mosques which serve as illuminated images rather than a source of light. Light is a major feature in many mosques considering it being a major symbol of God in Islam. This is mentioned in a chapter in Quran:
″Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth″^[4]

Gallery

Winter prayer hall
Winter prayer hall
Outside of the mosque
Outside of the mosque at night
Muqarnas of Nasir-ol-molk Mosque
Ceilings of the winter prayer hall
Decoration of the mosque
Mosaic dome interior
interior

Panoramic view from outside.

Panoramic view from interior.

References

^ Cem Nizamoglu. "Mosque of Whirling Colours: A Mixture of Architecture and Art in Nasīr al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran". MuslimHeritage.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016.
^ "A Mixture of Architecture and Art in Nasir Al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran". Nasir Al-Mulk Mosque, http://nasiralmulk.ir/.
^ Al-Hassan, Ahmad Y. "An Eighth Century Arabic Treatise On The Colouring Of Glass: Kitāb Al-Durra Al-Maknūna (The Book Of The Hidden Pearl) Of Jābir Ibn Ḥayyān (c. 721–c. 815).” Arabic Sciences and Philosophy, vol. 19, no. 1, 2009, pp. 121–156.
^ The Qur'an [24:35]

External links

Nasir ol Molk Mosque on Art-Days.com
Nasir ol Molk Mosque on Albert-Videt.eu (in French)
BBC Persian: Nasir ol Molk (in Persian)

[1] Cem Nizamoglu. "Mosque of Whirling Colours: A Mixture of Architecture and Art in Nasīr al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran". MuslimHeritage.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2016.

[2] "A Mixture of Architecture and Art in Nasir Al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran". Nasir Al-Mulk Mosque, http://nasiralmulk.ir/.

[3] Al-Hassan, Ahmad Y. "An Eighth Century Arabic Treatise On The Colouring Of Glass: Kitāb Al-Durra Al-Maknūna (The Book Of The Hidden Pearl) Of Jābir Ibn Ḥayyān (c. 721–c. 815).” Arabic Sciences and Philosophy, vol. 19, no. 1, 2009, pp. 121–156.

[4] The Qur'an [24:35]

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