The project to restore the dome of Isfahan’s iconic Imam Mosque has entered its second phase, according to Fereydoun Allahyari, head of the provincial official of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Isfahan.
“Cracks across half of the dome have been restored and work has begun on the other half,” CHTN quoted the official as saying.
The project, which so far cost over 20 billion rials ($579,700), is expected to be completed by September 2017.
“Once the project is finished, no restoration work will be needed for 30 years,” Allahyari said. Also called the Jame’ Abbasi Mosque of Isfahan, the massive structure boasts architectural styles spanning centuries.
The complex, covering more than 20,000 m2, is the first Islamic building that adapted the four-courtyard layout of Sassanid palaces to Islamic religious architecture. Its double-shelled ribbed domes represent an architectural innovation that inspired builders throughout the region. The site also features remarkable decorative details illustrative of stylistic developments over more than 1,000 years of Islamic art
Along with Isfahan’s famed Naqsh-e-Jahan Square, the mosque was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.
