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Amir
Chakhmaq Mosque
On
no account should you miss the fourteenth-century AD
Masjid-e Amir Chakhmaq or Masjid-e Jom'eh' (an exact
contemporary of the Masjid-e Jam'e) next to the bazaar
portal, famous for its superb portal ornamented with
stucco, and the traditional four-ivan structure
on a courtyard a little too small for the ivans.
Originally, it was called Masjid-e Now (New
Mosque). The frieze on the portal has artistically
very valuable calligraphy etched on it, according to
which the mosque was built by the zealous efforts of
Bibi Fatemeh Khatun, wife of Yazd governor Amir Jalal
od-Din Chakhmaq. A marble mihrab has been
installed, around which decorative tiles and verses of
the Holy Koran have been etched over stone. The mosque
is very near to the Takieh-ye Mir Chakhmaq, a
19th-century tiled edifice built to serve as a
grandstand for the traditional passion play, or
Ta'zieh, recording the martyrdom of the third
Imam, Hossein, that is acted during the mourning month
of Muharram (lunar) in the Takieh, or special
theater used for these performances, of which it
formed part. At present, the free space in proof the
monument has been turned into the central square of
the town, and has acquired anew appearance as a result
of trees and flowers having been planted. Actually,
this represents one of the buildings of a historic
complex incorporating a mosque, a public bath, a
caravansary, a mausoleum, a takieh. three water
reservoirs, and an imposing entrance to one of Yazd's
bazaars.. |