Travel Guide Ardestan

Located 80 km south of Kashan, Ardestan, founded by the parathians kings (190 B.C. to 224 ha. and the birthplace of the Great king sassanide Khosro (531-579), shelters one of the most significant mosques in Iran. Was in the th century under the selçuk dynasty (1038-1157), it joined the same builders movement as the buildings built in Isfahan and Qazvin. Noted the main architectural innovation: the integration of the dome pavilion into a cobbled inner courtyard of four iwan. This court plan will then become a characteristic of Iranian mosques, replacing the hypostyle plane visible in Nain. See also the kiosque of a former temple of fire and admire the finesse of brick work, eloquent testimony of the brio of the craftsmen at the time. Entries for royal taxes date back to 1615. The small Friday mosque, dating from 1109, is one of the oldest mosques in four iwan in the country.