Friday Mosque/Great Mosque of Herat
Herat's Friday Mosque, which is over 800 years old, is Afghanistan's finest Islamic structure and one of the best in Central Asia. Its vivid colors and meticulous detailing are an ecstatic hymn in the worship of Allah, and it is a master class in the art of tile mosaic.
The lawn on the mosque's eastern side, which leads up to a massive and beautifully tiled façade, is where the majority of people enter. The entrance halls are on each side of this, but they are frequently shut outside of the mosque's major prayer hours, requiring people to enter through the little street door on the mosque's northern wall. The chilly gloom of the entrance corridor gives way to a vibrant starburst of color as you enter the main courtyard, making this a more atmospheric choice. Remember to take off your shoes at this point.
The mosque has four iwans (barrel-vaulted chambers) with arcaded walls surrounding a central courtyard that is nearly 100 meters long. The main iwan is flanked by two massive minarets. Almost every square has a stunning mosaic at the center, encircled by blue bars of Quranic lettering. Only the iwans' plain whitewash gives a hint of modesty. The minarets are dizzying, with their repetitive bands of stylized flowers, arabesques, and geometric designs.
The mosque was designed around 1200 by the Ghorid Sultan Ghiyasuddin. The Ghorids liked plain brick and stucco adornment, so it would have looked rather different at first. The brilliant mosaic was brought by the Timurids when they repaired the mosque in the 15th century, but by the early 20th century, so much of it had been lost that tourists remarked on the mosque's dullness.
The mosque's tile workshop, which has been in operation since the 1940s, is responsible for the beautiful tiling that presently covers the mosque. Although many of the mosaics are based on Timurid originals, the studio has added its own designs, colors, and calligraphy to the mix. One of the gems of current Islamic abstract expressionism is the result of this traditional-meets-modern approach. The workshop is in a courtyard to the left of the main portal entrance in the park; inquire about it at the Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism's modest office, which is just inside. The courtyard also has one of the few remaining Ghorid decorations, which has been layered with Timurid tiling, demonstrating the mosque's long history of creative styles. From glazing the raw tiles to setting down the delicate mosaics, the craftsmen are usually eager to show off their work. Taking photos in the mosque is usually not a problem, however, it should be avoided during prayer times. The greatest time to photograph the tiles is in the early morning.
Address: Herat, Afghanistan
