Tarikhaneh

The Tarikhaneh at Damghan is generally reckoned among the oldest mosques still standing in Iran, built in the eighth or ninth century, and its interest is that it shows what came before the classical Iranian mosque: a rectangular courtyard surrounded by arcades carried on very heavy round brick piers with slightly elliptical arches, an arrangement that owes a great deal to Sassanid building and almost nothing to later Islamic convention, with no tile, no iwan and no ornament. The piers are unusually thick for the span they carry, which is characteristic of early experimental building. A cylindrical minaret of the eleventh century stands beside it with bands of decorative brickwork, added long after the mosque itself.

What you actually see

• Heavy round brick piers - the earliest phase of Iranian mosque building.
• Elliptical arches - a Sassanid inheritance in an Islamic building.
• A completely plain interior - no tile, iwan or ornament anywhere.
• The eleventh-century minaret - patterned brickwork added later.

When to go

April to June and September to November. One hour. Mornings for light into the arcades. Damghan is on the main Tehran to Mashhad route, which makes it an easy stop.

Honest expectations

It is small, plain and quickly seen, and its importance is historical rather than visual. The site is often unstaffed and can be locked. There is minimal interpretation. Damghan itself has little else.

Nearby

Semnan is west; the Mashhad road continues east.