Isfahan; The Pearl of Islam.

The Safavids, a native dynasty, reunited Iran in the early 16th century and reached the highest point in the reign of Shah Abbas I the Great (1587-1629). He moved the capital to Isfahan (ancient Aspadana) (210 miles (340 km) south of Tehran) and in a exceptional illustration of Iranian town planning, reorganized the whole city in a series of interlinked squares according to the grandest plans conceivable. This was not the first time that the Safavids dynasty had moved their capital, they started moving since their original capital (Tabriz) in 1555, till they established as a world power in Isfahan in late 1590's.

This review cover the Masjid-i Shah (Imam Mosque) in the Maidan, Isfahan. The Maidan itself host Ali Qapu Palace (Fourth Building, located in the west side of the Maidan, built in 1590), Lutfallah Mosque (Built after the completion of the Maidan between 1603 & 1619), Shah Mosque (Built between 1611 & 1630) , Chahar Bagh and the bazaar  (Built on a 2 KM stretch) that connected the old city with the new Maidan. The largest square, in the north, is the Maidan-i Shah, a vast open space, with a major building complex on three sides. One of these is the Masjid-iShah, or Imam Mosque, the greatest building in a magnificent city. Its monumental gateway, with minarets 110 feet (34 Meter) high, occupies a significant pan of the southern side of the maidan.

The Masjid-i Shah Mosque is a marvel of Safavids art and magnificent example of the extravagant architecture that constituted the glory of Isfahan at the time. The two minarets of the north portal, the high cupola (170 feet) and minarets of the south portal (160 feet), and the pointed roof of the gold dominate the arcades of the square. The finest view of the mosque is from the upper story of Ali Qapu Palace where you can see the entire structure of the minarets, the stalactite vaults of the portals, and the splendid cupola with its high drum and characteristic bulb-shaped dome.

The visible exteriors of the mosque are largely covered with ceramic tiles, in color predominantly blue or turquoise, cool colors contrasting agreeably with the warm tones of brickwork and landscape round about. Two main types of tile work were developed; The mosaic tile work produced by incorporating single color tiles into the design and the so called cuerda seca technique where a range of colors is used on individual, generally square shaped tiles. The principle colors used were blue, yellow, turquoise, pink, aborigine and green. These seven colors gave rise to the name haft rang - which literally means "seven colors". Tile work was used to emphasize certain motif, such as the ascending and descending patterns in the dome of the Lutfallah Mosque, and to emphasize intermediary points in the design either by providing a patterned panel or border, or by incorporating calligraphy.

Designs are varied and fluid, mostly based on stylized floral archetype. The concentration on decorative facades is a departure from Seljuk tradition which was less determined to conceal structure.

Ali Reza a great Iranian calligrapher, who was responsible for the inscriptions in the mosque, dated the main entrance in 1616, but work was clearly unfinished as there are records of orders being placed as late as 1630. There are estimates that 18 million bricks are in the building and the revetments are said to contain 472,500 tiles.