Domenareh Mosque

The Domenareh Mosque (مسجد دومناره) is located in Saqqez, Kordestan province. It is one of the oldest mosques in Saqqez as well as the whole of Kordistan Province surviving in its full original form. It belongs to the Afshari time and the early Zandian period.

According to local folklore, the mosque dates back to the time of Sheikh Hassan Molanabad, a famous mystic and mathematician of the Afshari era. When Nader Shah Afshar left for Baghdad, he passed through Saqqez. At the request of Sheikh Hasan Molanabad, Nader Shah ordered the construction of this mosque in the old part of Saqqez. Even now, some locals call this mosque Sheikh Hasan Molanabad Mosque. One of the signs and reasons for the validity of this claim is that in this journey, Nader Shah also gave two inlays and a beautiful painted leather tablecloth as a gift to Sheikh Hasan. These gifts are currently kept in the village of Molanabad, where Sheikh Hasan's tomb is located. There is also a Manuscript Quran in the tomb of Sheikh Hasan, which dates back to the late Afshari period.

Given the slope of the land the southern side of the mosque had to be constructed on a rock platform varying from 4 to 4.50 meters high. The structure has an almost square plan (12 by 10 meters). In its construction, materials such as raw clay, mud mortar, carcasses, bricks and wood have been used. The entrance of this mosque is located on its western side. At the entrance, it has a brick door with a Chinese knot texture of yellow bricks and tiles which represents the Zandieh period. 

After the entrance, there is a corridor of about 3 by 3.5 meters, from which the roof of the mosque can be reached by nine steps. On the eastern side of the corridor is a chamber supported by four columns (each 35 centimeters in diameter) which is 2.80 meters tall. There are also two connected rooms on the western side which can be accessed through the chamber and used to be utilized for residence and study chambers for the clergy.

On the southern wing of the chamber is the mosque’s mihrab with its crescent shaped roof. The eastern and western wings contain six and four shelves respectively while in the past the northern wing had a number of raised platforms which seem to have been utilized by the praying youth so that they could see the imam. These platforms no longer exist and in the year 2000 in their place a fireplace was built although it mainly has a decorative function. The mosque has a terrace which is 16 meters long. It is supported by six columns and shares a roof with the chamber although its floor is 50 centimeters lower. 

The terrace has its own entrance (with the phrase Ali madad above it) but it is also accessible through the chamber.

Once on the roof one can access either one of the mosque’s two minarets on the western and eastern side which in itself makes this mosque unique. The minarets are built such that half of their width is inside the mosque’s walls and the other half is exposed. They are not identical and the western one has more designs on it. Furthermore the western minaret has a width of 2.08 meters and its height is 5.30 meters from the top of the roof with 11 steps leading to its top while the eastern one is 2.60 meters in diameter and has a height of 5.80 meters from the roof and has 12 steps.

The mosque has an indoor water tank on the mosque’s southern side in the form of a pool covered by a dome. 

Circular openings in the dome provide light to the pool area. Visitors use the pool to perform their ablutions prior to praying. Fourteen marble steps on mosque’s southern side lead to the pool. The pool seems to be older than the actual mosque and is presumed to date back to the Safavid era.

The Domanareh Mosque was registered as one of the national works of Iran on March 16, 1999 with the registration number 2600.