Vakil Mosque

There are places of worship throughout the world that can claim to be extraordinarily beautiful in design and architecture, one of them is Vakil Mosque in Shiraz that situated to the west of the Vakil Bazaar. It's not just any mosque, it's one of the best. The mosque is well-known for domestic and incoming tourists.

historical mosque


History

The construction of this mosque in Shiraz dates back to the Zandiyeh era, between 1751 and 1773. It was restored in the 19th century during the Qajar period. Vakil means regent, which was the title used by Karim Khan, the founder of Zand Dynasty.

As he really cared about his people, most of the buildings  such as Vakil Mosque or the bazaar and the most important of them the bath were built to serve their needs. He was as a ruler of Zandiyeh dynasty, chose Shiraz as capital of his king's landing. Therefore, he ordered to build valuable and magnificent monuments all around the city such as Karim Khan Citadel, Vakil Bath, Vakil Bazaar, the mosque and etc.


Architecture

This mosque with an area over 11,000 square meters, Iranian architecture, superb carvings, sculpted inscriptions to the Nastaliq, Naskh and Thuluth scripts, and its colorful tile works will be praised and appreciated by every visitor. It’s interesting to know that, the Vakil Mosque hasn’t any dome and designed in Iranian architecture.

This ancient mosque is located at the end of the sword cutlers district on the west of Vakil Bazar. The mosque has two iwans (the entrance structure of traditional places), and two southern and eastern Shabestans, entrance gate, courtyard, mihrab and marble minbar.

One of the enchanting parts of this mosque is its pillars. 48 amazing pillars that were skillfully carved and bring glory to this mosque. In addition to beauties, these pillars are responsible for maintaining the vast roof of the Shabestan.

 

Opening hours

This historical mosque is open for visitors in spring, summer time from 08.30 am to 20.30 pm and in autumn, winter time from 07.30 am to 19.30 pm. The mosque is closed on friday because it is under the control of Endowments Directorate.