Mosques of Iran
Hi everyone! Some of you may have seen my longer post last week about my incredible trip to Iran, and as a follow-up I wanted to do a shorter, photographic segment featuring what is arguably the most compelling and beautiful aspect of modern Iranian culture: their mosques.Part of the reason that Islamic art tends to feature gorgeous geometric patterns has to do with the idea of aniconism, or the belief that God should not be directly depicted, and so mosques instead feature intricate, hand-painted tiles as a way of expressing the divine.
I hope you enjoy my photos!
Shah Mosque, Isfahan
Jame Mosque, Yazd
Nasir al-Mulk Mosque, Shiraz
Like what you read? Check out my other travel posts!
• My Road Trip Around Gorgeous Iceland!
• Incredible Iran
• Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina
• Voyage to the End of the Earth: Antarctica
• The Time I Tripped on LSD at Zion National Park, Utah, and Overcame My Depression
Thanks for sharing. They are fantastic.
WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW
I have always loved old Persian design. This shit is ridiculous! I could trip on LSD all day in one of these!!!!!!
These are incredible, thanks for sharing :)
Thanks for taking a look! Glad you enjoyed them.
I really like that tile work. Just amazing how beautiful they are. Can't imagine how long it took to create with all those curves and points. Thanks for posting.
Many of these mosques were built over at least a decade of meticulous work and attention to detail. It really is spectacular to behold! Thanks for taking a look.
Wow! These photos are magnificent! Thanks for explaining the concept of aniconism, it is beautiful.
I also just read your reply on anyx's post that you live on the California coast and if you live close to the Bay Area @steemrollin and I are planning SF's first Steemit Meetup on August 25th and we'd love to see you there! Here's the info: https://www.meetup.com/steemitsf/events/232883052/
Thank you so much, and wow—you read my mind, I was going to seek out a Steemit Meetup in the area! I'm definitely going to have to see if I can make it and bring along a few friends, thanks again.
Also, as a brief aside, I love your content and photography, count me as a follower. Cheers, hope to be able to make your acquaintance at that Meetup!
That's awesome I'm looking forward to meeting you in a few weeks!
Thanks so much, I'm loving your content as well and am following you! I just read your intro post from yesterday and I grew up close to Point Reyes, it's still one of my favorite hiking spots around :-)
Same here! Point Reyes is beautiful, what a great place to grow up.
See you soon, hopefully! :)
i adore this architecture! the intricate mosaics and extensive decoration of every tiny space is incredibly beautiful to me.
Me too, and photos don't even do it justice!
Wow!
I have seen these Mosques in photos before but they rarely capture the colours as you have here. It is stunning.
I think it should also be noted that some of the techniques used to produce some of these fantastic coloured tiles and detail have been lost and can't be replicated using modern techniques.
The artistry is equalled only by the scientific knowledge implemented by the original artisans who created these great structures.
It really is stunning, and you're correct that modern techniques can't capture the same level of detail and artistry of these tiles. Fortunately, and I learned this while in Iran, there are many artists currently being trained in traditional restoration and I even got to see a few of them in action in Kashan, central Iran. It's wonderful that Iran is determined to invest in protecting its cultural heritage.
You've got a new follower here, your comments and articles are always insightful. :) Cheers!
Thanks. I have been following you too since the Zion park post:)
Yes it is refreshing given all the other problems Iran has that they are getting at least this right. Bizarrely Iran is also quite accepting of transgender people compared to other religious Islamic countries (not homosexuality though sadly).
Awesome!
Yes, from what I've heard, homosexuality is still illegal in Iran but it's legal to get a sex change, so many gay men opt for the procedure so they can live with their significant other. It's strangely progressive yet punitive at the same time.
Yes. Strangely progressive on the one hand but not the other.
Such intricate art work! Fantastic photography too!
Thank you!
I have been wanting to visit for ages. :)
Do it now if you can, Iran is likely to see HUGE increases in tourism over the next few years, and for good reason!
Okay you have me at these amazing shots!
Wow! fantastic sacred geometry.
Ha! I wanted to write "sacred geometry" in the description but didn't want to sound too hippy woo woo. Glad you said it first. Thanks for the upvote and comment, my friend!
beautiful!
Fantastic photos!
Incredible! I wish i was there :)
I added some more photos from north of IRAN :)
https://steemit.com/photography/@pouyan/babol-iran-photography
Sooo inspiring! And to think that they didn't have fractal software computers back then... Wowzers :::)
Love that photos so much, i'm amazed about the beatifulness of Irans mosques :D :)