Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque

The Nasir-ol-Molk 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 the Qajar era.

Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque
Religion
Affiliation	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
Architecture
Type	Mosque
Style	Islamic, Iranian architecture
Completed	1888
Website
http://www.nasirolmolkmosque.com/

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

Exterior of the mosque

History

The mosque was constructed between 1876 and 1888 and is still under use under the protection of the Endowment Foundation of Nasir-ol-Molk. It had been commissioned by Mirza Hasan Ali Nasir ol-Molk, one of the lords and aristocrats of Shiraz and the son of Ali Akbar Qavam ol-Molk the kalantar of Shiraz. The designers were Mohammad Hasan-e-Memār, a Persian architect who had also built the noted Eram Garden before the Nasir-ol-Molk Mosque, Mohammad Hosseini Shirazi, and Mohammad Rezā Kāshi-Sāz-e-Širāzi.^[2]

Orsi: Persian Stained Glass

The ceiling 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 during the Safavid and Qajar eras. 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 of the Quran:
″Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth″^[4]

Gallery

• 
  Winter prayer hall
• 
  Winter prayer hall
• 
  Exterior of the mosque
• 
  Exterior of the mosque at night
• 
  Muqarnas of Nasir-ol-molk Mosque
• 
  Ceiling of the winter prayer hall
• 
  Decoration of the mosque
• 
  Mosaic dome interior
• 
  Interior

Panoramic exterior view.

Panoramic interior view.

See also

• List of mosques in Iran
• Architecture of Iran

References

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]

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)