The cultural-historical complex of Sheikh Abol-Hassan Kharaghani in Ghal’e No village in Shahrud, Semnan Province is being renovated, said the head of Shahrud office of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO), Hamidreza Hosseini, according to ISNA.
In the first phase of the project, the outer courts, ledges, and cobblestone pavements on the eastern wing of the complex will be renovated.
In the middle of the site there is a mosque attributed to Sheikh Abol-Hassan Kharaghani. The mihrab of the mosque dates back to the Ilkhanate period (1256–1339) which is among the most important parts of the structure as it is the only Mihrab that has been built facing the west.
Mihrab is a semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, which Muslims face when praying.
Sheikh Abol-Hassan Kharaghani was one of the master Sufis of Islam. He was born in 963 in Kharaqan village. He died on the day of Ashura (10th of Muharram) in 1033.
