Abarkuh Mosque

Mosque Name: Abarkuh Congregational Mosque

Country: Iran

City: Abarkuh

Year of construction (AH): Unknown (800-899)

Year of construction (AD): Unknown

GPS: 31.130353° 53.285296°

ArchNet: https://archnet.org/sites/2876

Original Qibla: 258.6 (Between)

Rebuilt facing Mecca: Never

For a Link to the Qibla Tool Click Here

Description:

Abarkuh is a city and capital of Abarkuh County, Yazd Province, in Iran. The writer Ibn Hawqal noted that Abarquh was the capital of the Nahiyah of Rudan, which had formerly been part of Kerman Province but, by the time of his writing, had become part of Fars under the district of Estakhr. The accounts of Ibn Hawqal and his contemporary al-Maqdisi describe Abarquh as a prosperous and populous town, fortified with a citadel. The mishmash of narrow streets formed a compact, spontaneous network, and the houses, like those of Yazd were built of sun-dried brick in a vaulted shape. 10th-century Abarquh had a large Friday mosque, which was a predecessor of the current one, which dates from the post-Mongol period. As the surrounding region was treeless and arid, and thus unable to support much agriculture, Abarquh imported large quantities of food from elsewhere. It exported cotton cloth. A notable feature mentioned by Ibn Hawqal is a “lofty hill of ashes” (possibly a volcanic remnant) said to be the remains of the fire where Namrud tried to burn Abraham to death

The building in question is the Friday Congregational Mosque which dates back to the Timurid era. Because this building has a Between Qibla, there may have been an earlier mosque on this site with a Between Qibla. Apparently the Biroon local mosque also used to face the same direction, but it has been replaced by a modern building.