UNESCO Experts Inspect Development Projects Around Atiq Mosque In Isfahan

Isfahan, July 3, IRNA -- A group of experts from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inspected the development projects as well as historical monuments around Atiq Mosque in the city, Director General for the province Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Mohsen Moslehi said on Wednesday. Isfahan’s Friday Mosque has been registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, making it the 14th Iranian site registered with the world body. Isfahan’s Friday mosque is the oldest preserved edifice of its type in Iran and a prototype for later mosque designs throughout Central Asia. Also known as Atiq Mosque, the building is the first Islamic structure that adapted the four-courtyard layout of Sassanid palaces to Islamic religious architecture. Its double-shelled ribbed domes represent an architectural innovation that inspired builders throughout the region. The beautiful structure illustrates the evolution of mosque architecture since 841 CE when it was first founded. The building includes architectural features of different historical periods including Qajar, Ilkhanid, Safavid and Seljuk eras. UNESCO inspectors voiced satisfaction with the development projects around the mosque. The former governor-general of Isfahan province had promised that the development projects around the mosque never put the mosque at risk, he said./end