Masjid-i Jami' Darab

The Friday mosque of Darab, possibly built in the 17th century, is a Safavid construction. In contrast to the typical Persian courtyard mosque, it has an unusual plan: it is a freestanding building with four corner towers. It is said to be a copy of the mausoleum of I'timad al-Daula in Agra, India. The mosque is rectangular in plan and enclosed by four iwans. Oriented northeast-southwest, it is centered on a rectangular prayer hall surrounded by open porches. The southwest iwan contains the qibla iwan and mihrab. Four smaller halls are located behind each iwan. Two iwans are open to the exterior on each of the long sides of the mosque. Recently, the northeast iwan and the hall behind it have been converted into a prayer hall for women. Four broad minarets, relatively low in height, are located in the four corners of the mosque. The mosque and the shafts of the minarets are constructed of brick. The minarets are dodecagonal in plan and built upon a stone base. Now in ruins, their shafts were decorated with many Kufic inscriptions. Within the mosque, the arcades of the open porches are covered with unornamented stucco. The mihrab is simply ornamented with stucco carvings.Sources: Pohanka, Reinhard. Die Masdjed-e Djoume in Darab, Südiran. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wien : Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1985.