Sacred places in Iran: temples, churches, shrines and mosques

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Islam · Isfahan · 841Jameh Mosque of IsfahanMasjed-e Jāmé of Isfahan, Masjed-e Jame Isfahan, Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, Friday Mosque of Isfahan, Atiq Jame Mosque, مسجد جامع اصفهان

The Friday congregational mosque of Isfahan, continuously expanded over twelve centuries since 841, where the Sassanid palace layout of a four-iwan courtyard was first adapted into Islamic religious architecture. Its 11th-century Nizam al-Mulk and Taj al-Mulk domes are pioneering double-shelled ribbed brick domes that set the model for mosques across Iran and Central Asia.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (2012)Khu quảng trường cổ Atiq, đầu phía bắc Đại Chợ Isfahan, thành phố Isfahan

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Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Islam · Razavi Khorasan Province · Khởi nguồn năm 818 Công nguyên khi Imam Ali al-Ridha được an táng bên cạnh mộ Khalip Harun al-Rashid tại làng Sanabad (nay là Mashhad, nghĩa là Nơi Tử Đạo); xây dựng đền lăng dưới thời nhà Ghaznavid (1009) và nhà Seljuk (1150); Hoàng hậu Goharshad của đế chế Timurid xây dựng Đại Thánh đường Goharshad năm 1418 theo thiết kế của kiến trúc sư Qavam al-Din Shirazi; dát vàng mái vòm dưới thời Shah Tahmasp I (1526) và Shah Abbas I (1601 tới 1607); mở rộng thành siêu quần thể gồm bảy đại sân đền (Sahn) trong thế kỷ 20 và 21Imam Reza Shrine, MashhadHaram-e Emam Reza, Astan Quds Razavi, Complex of Goharshad Mosque and Mausoleum of Imam Ali al-Ridha at Mashhad

The spiritual heart of Iran and the largest mosque-shrine complex in the world by total area (exceeding one million square meters) at the center of Mashhad in Khorasan, grown over twelve centuries around the burial chamber of the Eighth Shia Imam, Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (Imam Reza, martyred in 818 CE), uniting a millennium of Persian architectural masterpieces including the 1418 Timurid Goharshad Mosque, the Safavid golden dome, dazzling mirror-mosaic halls, seven monumental courtyards, and the Astan Quds Razavi Library.

Largest Mosque-Shrine Complex in the World by Area (Over 1,000,000 Square Meters), Supreme National Spiritual Sanctuary of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Heart of Iran), and Iranian National Heritage Monument (Registered January 6, 1932, No. 140)Haram-e Motahhar Precinct, junction of Imam Reza, Shirazi, Tabarsi, and Navab Safavi Avenues, Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Islamic Republic of Iran

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Photo: Soroush.javadian, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Zoroastrianism · Yazd Province · Ngọn lửa thiêng bên trong được thánh hiến từ khoảng năm 470 Công nguyên dưới triều đại Sasanian tại đền lửa Karyan (vùng Larestan, tỉnh Fars), sau đó được các tu sĩ Mobed bí mật di chuyển qua Aqda (năm 1174), Ardakan (năm 1474) và đưa về thành phố Yazd năm 1474; tòa đền hiện tại được xây dựng và khánh thành năm 1934 nhờ sự đóng góp của Hiệp hội Bái Hỏa giáo Parsi Ấn Độ (Anjuman-i Parsiyan) dưới sự chỉ đạo của Jamshid Bahman Jamshidian và kiến trúc sư Arbab Rostam GuivYazd Atash Behram (Zoroastrian Fire Temple)Atashkadeh-e Yazd, Atash Varahram-e Yazd, Temple of the Eternal Victorious Fire at Yazd

The sole highest-grade Zoroastrian Fire of Victory temple (Atash Behram) in Iran and one of only nine active Atash Behram sanctuaries in the world, situated in the UNESCO World Heritage desert oasis of Yazd and housing a sacred flame that has burned continuously for over 1,550 years since its Sasanian consecration around 470 CE, enshrined since 1934 inside a neo-Achaemenid pavilion adorned with the winged Faravahar emblem reflected in a circular lotus pool.

Sole Highest-Grade Zoroastrian Fire of Victory Temple (Atash Behram) in Iran (One of Nine Worldwide), National Heritage Monument of Iran (No. 2431, 1999), and Component of the Historic City of Yazd (UNESCO World Heritage Site, Inscribed 2017, Ref. 1544)Ayatollah Kashani Avenue, Yazd City, Yazd Province, Islamic Republic of Iran

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Photo: Diego Delso, Phạm vi công cộng, Wikimedia Commons

Islam · Isfahan Province · Khởi công năm 1611 (năm 1020 lịch Hijri) theo sắc lệnh của Quốc vương Shah Abbas I Đại đế nhà Safavid và hoàn thiện các hạng mục trang trí cuối cùng vào năm 1629 tới 1638 dưới thời Shah Safi; do đại kiến trúc sư Ali Akbar Isfahani thiết kế, học giả Sheikh Bahai tính toán quy hoạch và danh gia thư pháp Ali Reza Abbasi viết các dải minh vănShah Mosque (Imam Mosque), IsfahanMasjed-e Shah, Masjed-e Emam, Masjed-e Soltani, Masjed-e Jame-ye Abbasi, Royal Safavid Congregational Mosque of Isfahan

The crowning masterpiece of Safavid Persian Islamic architecture anchoring the southern side of Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan (inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979), commissioned in 1611 by Shah Abbas I the Great and designed by master architect Ali Akbar Isfahani with an ingenious 45-degree axial pivot aligning the square with the Mecca Qibla, a 52-meter double-shelled dome famous for its sevenfold acoustic echo, and a symphony of cobalt and turquoise Haft-rangi seven-color tilework.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Meidan Emam, Esfahan, Inscribed 1979, Reference No. 115) and Iranian National Heritage Monument (Registered January 6, 1932, No. 107)Southern side of Naqsh-e Jahan Square (Maidan-e Emam), Historic Center of Isfahan, Isfahan Province, Islamic Republic of Iran

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Photo: Yare zaman2000, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Orthodox Christianity · West Azerbaijan Province · Truyền thống khởi dựng nhà thờ đầu tiên năm 68 Công nguyên trên mộ Thánh Tông đồ Thaddeus; ghi chép lịch sử sớm nhất từ thế kỷ 7; tái thiết phần nhà thờ đá đen phía đông năm 1329 dưới thời Tổng giám mục Zachariah sau trận động đất năm 1319; trùng tu thời Safavid dưới triều Shah Abbas I năm 1610; xây thêm phần nhà thờ đá trắng phía tây với phù điêu hoa văn Armenia và Ba Tư từ năm 1810 tới 1820 dưới sự bảo trợ của Hoàng thái tử nhà Qajar là Abbas MirzaArmenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran (St. Thaddeus Monastery)Surb Tadeosi Vank, Qara Kelisa (The Black Church), Ghara Kelisa, UNESCO Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran (Saint Thaddeus, Saint Stepanos, and Chapel of Dzordzor)

The centerpiece of the UNESCO World Heritage Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran (inscribed in 2008 alongside Saint Stepanos Monastery and the Chapel of Dzordzor) standing in the mountainous highlands of Chaldoran in northwestern Iran, traditionally founded in 68 CE over the tomb of the Apostle Saint Thaddeus (Jude) and the virgin martyr Saint Sandukht, celebrated for its striking bichrome architecture uniting the fourteenth-century black-stone sanctuary (Qara Kelisa) with the richly sculpted white-sandstone Qajar narthex of 1810.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran, Inscribed 2008, Reference No. 1262; Pilgrimage Inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2020, No. 01571) and Iranian National Heritage Monument (No. 405, 1956)Qara Kelisa Village, 20 km southeast of Chaldoran (Siah Cheshmeh) and 65 km south of Maku, Chaldoran County, West Azerbaijan Province, Islamic Republic of Iran

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Photo: Alireza Javaheri, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

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This library is open and free, and it records its own progress in public. Three things you can help with today:

Name a place we missedA founding temple, a church, a mosque, a shrine the table above does not have. Send the name, the province, and one line on why it belongs.
Send a photograph with an open licenceNothing is published without both the photographer and the licence. Your own photograph with your permission, or an openly licensed one, are both welcome.
Report an errorA wrong date, a wrong original name, a wrong lineage, a wrong address. A library that is wrong once is not trusted again, so corrections are very welcome.

Write to thayungkhiem@gmail.com

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24/10/2026Completed three major initiatives on the same day: (1) Verified primary international sources and published the remaining 199 full English editions across 192 countries and territories, officially completing Stage D with 100% bilingual Vietnamese and English coverage across the entire library. (2) Visually verified and published 35 openly licensed Wikimedia Commons photographs for 22 sites in Vietnam and 13 international sanctuaries. (3) Authored 100 new bilingual sacred place monographs with real photographs for Stage C across 25 countries and territories (South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Canada and Mexico), expanding each from 1 to 5 places and bringing the library to 761 sacred places.
25/09/2026Launched the complete Scriptures and Mantras section for all 19 faiths, presenting one daily liturgical text per tradition in four columns (original script, transliteration, Vietnamese and English) with a read-along player and human recordings for 7 texts. On the same day, visually verified and published 29 openly licensed Wikimedia Commons photographs for the first Stage A batch across 29 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
24/09/2026In the Main Hall, completed 3D ritual offerings for all 19 faiths with authentic gestures, offerings and proportions, alongside the milestone counter toward one billion heartfelt offerings. In the Places section, completed articles and openly licensed photographs for 30 second-batch sites across the 10 priority countries (bringing each to 5 places, including the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam as the library's first Jewish site) and authored the first 30 Stage A articles across 30 additional countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas (including Bulguksa, the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Angkor Wat, Borobudur, Masjid al-Haram, St Peter's Basilica and Guadalupe).

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?Quick Questions

Why are there no opening hours or ticket prices

Because they change constantly. A library that is wrong once about a practical detail loses its standing on everything else. Check with the place itself before you travel.

Where do the images come from

From Wikimedia Commons under open licences, each credited to its photographer, or photographed by UK MASTER ACADEMY. No image is published without both its author and its licence.

How were these places chosen

Four tests: it is officially listed as a heritage site, it belongs to a tradition this library covers, its site and orientation can be read in feng shui terms, and an openly licensed photograph exists.

Why is my country still grey

The library opens one country at a time, beginning with the countries that have the most readers, and within each country with its most significant places. A grey country is simply one whose turn has not come. Suggestions are welcome through the page of Master Ưng Khiêm.

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