TEHRAN - Bastam Jameh Mosque, which is the jewel of a magnificent historical complex in north-central Iran, has undergone restoration. 

Flanked by several mudbrick monuments within Bastam historical complex, the mosque suffered damage from termites over the years, Hamed Adel, the director of the historical complex, said on Wednesday.  

The eastern Shabestan of the centuries-old mosque is the subject of the restoration project, the official added. Shabestan is an underground space that can be usually found in Iran’s traditional mosques, houses, and schools.

The terms “Jameh Mosque”, “Masjed-e Jameh” and “Friday Mosque” are used in Iran for a grand communal mosque where mandatory Friday prayers are/were performed: the phrase is used in other Muslim countries but only in Iran does it designate this purpose.

Bastam historical complex includes the holy shrine of Mohammad Ibn Jafar Sadegh (AS), Bayazid Bastami tomb, Bayazid Monastery, Bayazid Mosque, Eljaito Iwan, Ghazan Dome, Jame Mosque, Kashaneh Tower, and Shahrokhieh School, which were built in different eras from the Seljuk era (1037–1194) to Qajar period (1789–1925). 

The prominent Persian mystic Bayazid Bastami lived in the historical city of Bastam, which is located six kilometers north of Shahroud. The monastery was a simple place where he studied and prayed. 

Kashaneh Tower is a tower connected to the Jame Mosque. It has a cellar that is connected to the top of the tower through a staircase that runs through the interior wall of the tower. The outer covering of the building has collapsed but the lower covering (the current dome) is untouched.

Shahrokhieh School has been built for the use of seminary students with 28 rooms on two floors. It also has a very interesting plan and about 28 rooms on two floors, which have been built for the use of students of religious sciences. The school has a mosque, an iwan, and a zurkhaneh, a special traditional place where men practice heroic sport.

ABU/AFM