Islamic Architecture

Amanda Hansen
July 30th 2014

1. Pick three structures in Isfahan from different time periods and describe them in a complete
paragraph. In addition to general details, be sure in this paragraph to explain their architectural and
societal functions (what purpose did they serve), how they fit into their historical period, and what drew
you to these particular buildings.
-The Shrine of Imamzadeh Ahmad-
The date of this shrine is 1167, there is also another shrine not pictured at this location called Agha
Najafi. Some of interesting features of this shrine are: A stone called 'Sumnat' which is said to be half
the remains of a Hindu Idol and placed there in 1167, an 18th century Bakhtiari lion, which is used to
mark the graves of great men. The Lion and the courtyard are both in exceptional condition and have
been preserved well. The Interior of the Shrine of Imamzadeh Ahmad had a beautiful ceiling and is a
traditional style with a simple dome. There is also Dado tiling which are painted medallions. The outside
of the building is really pretty which is why I was drawn to it. Most of the outside is gold and there is a
dome that comes to a point on the top. Both the top of the dome and the front of the building have a
bluish color of tile with beautiful designs on it. To me this shows how much these shrines meant to the
people who built them. You can tell that a lot of time was put into it and that the people who these
shrines are honoring must have been very well liked. The shrine also looks very expensive.

- Masjed-e-dashti (Dashti Mosque)-
This mosque dates back from the 11th or 12th century. It is very simplistic and a lot more plain in design
which make it easy to look at and understand the construction and design of the building. The building is
an off white almost sand looking color. It reminds me kind of a pyramid because of its shape, coloring
and simplicity. However the structure of the building looks strong, it seems very solid and like it could
last forever. It also comes up into a dome type peak at the top and has windows and doors on all sides
of the building. This particular building was in a village that did not get town down to build newer
buildings so the ruins have been preserved due to this. This makes it possible to see the old original style
of mosques, before newer ones started being built in the city. The ruin is single domes and is smaller
than a lot of other mosques but leaves plenty of room for someone to worship. This mosque shows the
faith of the early people of worship. They built this most likely in a town that was poor and had no
money for fancy frills. They just needed somewhere simple to talk to god. I like this building because it
shows the simplicity of faith. The mosque doesn't have to be big and fancy in order to have faith and
worship there.

-Tomb of Baba Qassem-
This Tomb doesnt say when the tomb was first constructed it just says it is of "great age" however it
was reconstructed in 1340 and then reconstructed again in 1644 under the Safavids. I like the tomb
because it has kind of a unique dome to it. It is more angular than a lot of the other ones and not so
rounded at the top. It is also interesting because it is directly in the middle of what looks like a city with
new buildings all around it. It looks interesting there almost like the world has grown around it but it has
stood still somehow, even though it is clearly updated. The website mentions that the greenish-ochre
color on either side of the entrance which is something that was used early in the time period to provide
intricate highlights to the buildings. The inside is said to have beautiful vaulted ceilings and that those
date between the 14th and 15th century. I think this building is interesting just because it is different. I
wonder if it was always in the middle of a city or village or if this development happened later on.
Because of all the reconstruction done it is hard to see what society was like when it was first
constructed, however it is very beautiful and different.

2. Again in a complete paragraph write about how the architecture of Salt Lake City compares to Isfahan.
Include what is similar and what is different about the buildings of the two cities. Are there structures in
Salt Lake City that would provide insight into American culture and tradition (not just Utah culture)?
{that is: what would a foreigner looking at our buildings on a website be able to understand about
Americans from their buildings. Think a bit more than usual about these questions. I want you to act like
archaeologists or anthropologists and try to think about what our buildings tell about ourselves}[If you
are outside of Utah, you may use another large U.S. city near your location].

When looking at the architecture in Salt Lake City it is really interesting how different is from that of
Isfahan. Most of the architecture I looked at was from the 1800's and 1900's and even then 2000's. So
obviously it is a lot different because it is a lot newer than a lot of the historical architecture of Isfahan.
Some buildings I looked at were the State Capitol, Abravenal Hall, the Salt Lake City Temple, and the
Cathedral of Madeline. All of these have a much more angular look to them than most of the ones I
looked at from Isfahan. They have more stories and also are much bigger (not all, but mostly) than the
older ones I looked at earlier. There are also steeples or points on the top of both the Salt Lake Temple
and the Cathedral of Madeline, where most of the architecture from Isfahan was not as pointed. So in
many ways I felt that they were very different, but I guess it is interesting that both have things that kind
up point upwards to the sky, none of the buildings were really flat. This makes me think this has
something to do with religious beliefs and worshipping a higher power. I think that the architecture of
Utah definitely looks more colonial and even more English than the other architecture looked at. It is
also more intricate and detailed which may a sign of when it was made. The people building in Utah
probably had more technological advances since it was so much later on in history.