Masjid-i Kirmani

The small neighborhood mosque known as Masjid-i Kirmani was founded in 1634-1635 according to an inscription. The mosque is entered through a portal that lies at the intersection of two thoroughfares in the ancient quarter of Jubara. An octagonal chamber immediately behind the portal gives onto a narrow outdoor space behind the compound's enclosure wall, from which one also enters the mosque itself. The prayer hall of the mosque consists of a large octagonal room with four wings emerging off of the long sides creating a cruciform shape. The mihrab is built into the southern arm of the cross along the southeastern wall. The form of the plan is odd for a mosque but relates closely to those of neighborhood baths. This led researchers associated with the Isfahan Urban History Project in the 1970s to conclude that the Masjid-i Kirmani was once a bath and was converted to a mosque in 1634-1635.Sources:Preliminary Report on the Isfahan City Project (Munich, Nov. 1977). Isfahan Urban History Project. The Aga Khan Documentation Center at Mit. Carton 1, Folder 17, "Isfahan Papers [1975-1979]."