The Friday mosque of Kerman is located in the prominent city of Kerman, which was established almost a thousand kilometers southeast of Tehran on an important crossroads of mercantile activities connecting north to south and west to east. This location led to the emergence of its famous, vibrant bazaar. The bazaar begins at the Friday mosque's rear portal and extends along the east-west axis, ending at the Arg Square. The Friday mosque of Kerman was built in 1350 by Amir Mobarezeddin Mohammad-e-Mozaffari-e-Meybodi- Yazdi under the Muzaffarids, who pushed away the Ilkhanids after Abu Sa'id's death in 1335 and established their own dynasty, ruling central Iran from 1314 to 1393. The Friday mosque is the earliest surviving example of Muzaffarid architecture. 

 The Mozaffarids were a family that came to power in Iran following the breakup of the Ilkhanate in the 14th century. 

The Friday mosque of Kerman comprises a rectangular court (40 meters by 32 meters) surrounded by a one-story arcade with four iwans placed at the center of each side. Only the southern main iwan is flanked by additional galleries on the second floor. It rises higher than the other three open iwans facing the court and is both wider and deeper (10 meters by 15 meters). Unlike the mosque at Yazd, the southern main iwan does not precede a closed domed chamber, but opens the hall behind it to the court. 

 

The eastern and western iwans are located on the cross axis, both rectangular (5 meters by 12 meters). The main entrance to the mosque is located to the north and is emphasized by its soaring portal iwan (20 meters high) opposite a city square with a central pool. Two additional entrances are found on the south and west, extending beyond the rectangular perimeter of the mosque. 

 

The mihrab was installed in the sixteenth century, whereas the qibla wall and the two side walls date from the original construction. The mihrab is a half-octagonal niche in the qibla wall and is surmounted by a semi-dome comprising two muqarnas tiers of tile mosaics of arabesque motifs placed on top of a marble dado. The mihrab's arch is framed by a rectangular frame with an inscription band flanked by two rectangular panels of glazed tile mosaics of geometric arabesque motifs. Another inscription band marks the joint between the prayer hall's walls and the room's pointed barrel vault, which is decorated with glazed terracotta in yellow and blue. 

 

Because the mosque dates from the fourteenth century, its continuous tile mosaic is limited to certain areas-- the main portal and the facing of the arcade-- and is restricted to a four-color palette (white, yellow, and dark and light blue). 

 

The main portal iwan is decorated with an extraordinary variety of rectangular panels of geometric, floral, and vegetal motifs. An inscription band in white script on a dark blue background frames the external perimeter of the iwan; floral ornament fills the spandrels' areas. The inner wall of the iwan, where the entrance opening is located, is covered by multiple frames of geometric panels in tile mosaic on top of which an inscription band runs horizontally at the center of the iwan's elevation. The iwan is crowned by a semi-dome of exquisite multi-tiered muqarnas units that ascend to a sunburst medallion on top of the semi dome. 

Following several centuries of construction, this exquisite mosque continues to draw visitors and historians for its location, design, and ornamentation. (Source: Islamic Architecture Community)