TEHRAN – Graced with eye-catching architecture, the Shafei Jameh Mosque stands tall in the ancient city of Kermanshah in western Iran.

A Sunni Muslims’ place of worship, it is predominantly notable for having atmospheric hypostyle halls, intricate stucco and sets of faience. The latter is a form of different-colored tiling sandwiched together to create the design.

The mosque was completed in 1945 under the auspices of Sunni benefactors. In fact, its interior design is in some ways like its Turkish counterparts.

Verses of the Holy Quran have been inscribed on the stucco. The ceilings are impressively adorned by geometric patterns while encircling arched windows and letting in the sunlight during the day.

The mosque, however, has somehow modest exterior when it comes to extravagant use of ornamentation. It has several modest domes and two minarets.

Visitors to the mosque can also revel in the nearby Tarikeh bazaar, a traditional marketplace stretched along labyrinth alleys.

Kermanshah is a cradle of civilization due to its antiquity, rich culture and Neolithic sites that yielded rich collections of stone tools and fossil bones.

Proximity to the Achaemenid and Sassanid bas-relief carvings of Bisotun and Taq-e-Bustan is amongst other tourist drawcards for the city.

PHOTO: An interior view of the Shafei Jameh Mosque

AFM/MQ/MG