Tekyeh Moaven al-Molk in Kermanshah

The Tekyeh Moaven al-Molk in Kermanshah is a building for the mourning ceremonies of the month of Muharram, put up at the beginning of the twentieth century with the money of a local dignitary, Hasan Khan Moaven al-Molk. The complex consists of three courtyards, the Hosseiniyeh, the Zeinabiyeh and the Abbasiyeh, joined by passages. The main thing here is the facing: the walls outside and inside are covered all over with painted tiles, and their subjects go far beyond ordinary ornament. Alongside scenes of the death of Imam Hussein at Karbala there are prophets, Qajar grandees, and also Achaemenid warriors and reliefs of Persepolis, a combination of Shia and pre-Islamic imagery rare for a religious building. Turquoise and grass green predominate, and the portraits are done in the manner of Qajar book miniature. The interior halls are roofed with muqarnas vaults and lit by windows of coloured glass. Part of the premises is occupied by an ethnographic collection, but the tekyeh remains in use.

The tekyeh remains in use but is open to visitors; there is an entrance fee, and part of the halls is taken up by an ethnographic collection. The painted tiles are the main thing here and are what people come for. It is worth dressing conservatively. Payment in cash.

Address

کوچه شهید غلامعلی گودینی, Kermanshah

On the map