TEHRAN – The centuries-old Abolmaali Grand Mosque in the central province of Yazd has undergone some rehabilitation works aimed at reviving, preserving, protecting, and strengthening the historical structure, ISNA reported.

The project involved covering and strengthening rooftop using cob material, changing the building’s worn out bricks and repairing the mosque’s badgir (wind catcher), provincial tourism chief Mohammadreza Falahati said on Saturday.

The 13th-century mosque was inscribed on the National Heritage list in 1999.

The mosque was built by Khajeh Abolmaali, of a wealthy and trustee family in Yazd. He also built a school, a public bathhouse, and a tomb next to the mosque in a neighborhood, which was located outside the city at the time.

The mosque, which has unique architectural features, includes a big garmkhaneh (a hot chamber where people perform ablutions), a yard, and a tomb as well as wind catchers. Its walls are decorated with hexagonal azure tiles with square flower pieces in the middle.

With its winding lanes, a forest of badgirs (wind catchers), mud-brick houses, atmospheric alleyways, and centuries of history, Yazd is a delightful place to stay, being referred to as a ‘don't miss’ destination by almost all travel associates in the region. The oasis city is wedged between the northern Dasht-e Kavir and the southern Dasht-e Lut on a flat plain ringed by mountains.

The province has an interesting mix of people as well, some 10 percent of whom follow the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism.

Yazd Jameh Mosque, Dowlatabad Garden, the Yazd Atash Behram, also known as Atashkadeh-e Yazd, Towers of Silence, and adjacent desert landscape are among its tourist sites. 

ABU/MG