Shafe’i Mosque; A Gem of Architecture in Kermanshah

IFP Editorial Staff

The Shafe’i grand mosque in Iran’s western city of Kermanshah highlights an elegant example of Islamic mosques inspired by the Ottoman architecture.

The Sunni Muslim mosque in Kermanshah has turned into a masterpiece of architecture and one of the most magnificent mosques across Iran after eight decades.

With its elegant minarets, the Shafe’i Mosque is one the Kurdish city’s main attractions. The mosque’s interior design includes intricate arches and pillars embellished with verses of the holy Quran.

Inspired by the classical Ottoman style in mosque architecture, Shafe’i Mosque has a large dome and several semi-domes, slender minarets, impressive ceiling and walls adorned by tughra calligraphic patterns and drawings, sturdy pillars, and a central space underneath the large dome that remind visitors of Turkish mosques.

Since 1947, the Sunni Muslims of Kermanshah have been holding Friday prayers in the mosque.

At present, the prayers are held only in the newly-built section of the mosque, whose style is inspired by the Turkish mosques and is adjacent to the old structure.

Like all other religious sites and mosques in Iran, the Shafe’i Mosque has faced a temporary closure after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in February.