Restoration of oldest mosque in Iran’s northwest kicks off with $330k fund
The Deputy of Cultural Heritage of Ardabil Province announced the realization of the long-held wish of the organization for the restoration of Ardabil's Jome Mosque (Friday Mosque), saying the renovation is going to be launched after years of waiting with a budget of 30 billion Tomans (approximately 330,000 dollars).
The historical mosque was last restored during the Ilkhanid period.
As reported by ILNA, Ardabil's Jome Mosque is considered one of the oldest historical buildings in Ardabil Province. A building that, according to cultural heritage experts, is considered one of the most important historical buildings in northwest Iran due to its various historical layers and its architecture and art from the Seljuk, Ilkhanid, and Safavid periods.
After several centuries since its restoration and reconstruction, the Deputy of Cultural Heritage of Ardabil emphasized the necessity of restoring the valuable historical building.
Alireza Dabbagh Abdollahi said one of the best restorations we had wished for over many years was Ardabil's Jome Mosque, and its restoration has now begun with the efforts of the Ardabil Cultural Heritage Department.
“Last year, with the establishment of the Ardabil Jome Mosque base, this mosque was added to the list of National Bases, and this year, with a contract worth 30 billion Tomans, we began the restoration activities of this very valuable historical building.”
Dabbagh Abdollahi said the 30 billion Toman contract is separate from landscaping and has been allocated for the revival of the iwan-khaneh (portico) of the mosque, which is a very unique work.
“For many years, we had been trying to undertake restoration and protection measures of this scale and level in Ardabil's Jome Mosque, and fortunately, this contract has now been concluded, and experts are currently restoring and reviving the historical building,” he said.
Located in the northeast of Ardabil, between the neighborhoods of Pirshamseddin and Abdollah Shah, the valuable historical building is one of the oldest mosques in northwest Iran, which was last restored during the Ilkhanid period. The original structure of the current mosque was built during the Seljuk period, on the remains of an older structure that was destroyed as a result of the Mongol invasion in 620 AH and was rebuilt around 650 AH.
Experts and cultural heritage activists believe that since Ardabil's Jome Mosque has various historical layers, its restoration must be carried out with high sensitivity.
The main building of the mosque has beautiful prismatic compositions with a string course adorned with mosaic tiles, and the vaulting under the dome is also designed such that in each corner of this square, three squinches with large pendentives were built, each having two rectangular openings for lighting and illumination of the mihrab area.
Ardabil's Jome Mosque consists of three parts. The first part of the building relates to the base of a minaret that is visible at a short distance from the mosque and has two parts: an octagonal base and a cylindrical body with a diameter of five meters. The second part of the building relates to the wooden-roofed mosque, which is supported by nine wooden columns. Finally, the third part of the building relates to the old mosque, which is a combination of four arches and a dome, decorated with some tiles, and many of these facades have now been lost.