Friday, October 8, 2021

Συμμετρική Ασυμμετρία, το Τζαμί του Σεΐχη Λουτφολλάχ στο Εσφαχάν, και η Μυστηριακή Αρχιτεκτονική του Σιιτικού Μεσσιανισμού

ΑΝΑΔΗΜΟΣΙΕΥΣΗ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΣΗΜΕΡΑ ΑΝΕΝΕΡΓΟ ΜΠΛΟΓΚ “ΟΙ ΡΩΜΙΟΙ ΤΗΣ ΑΝΑΤΟΛΗΣ” 

Το κείμενο του κ. Νίκου Μπαϋρακτάρη είχε αρχικά δημοσιευθεί την 13η Αυγούστου 2019. 

Ο κ. Μπαϋρακτάρης δημοσιεύει το περιεχόμενο συζητήσεών μας σχετικά με την μυστικιστική αρχιτεκτονική ορισμένων τζαμιών, τους μεσσιανικούς συμβολισμούς τους και την συνέχιση στο Ισλάμ αρχαίων ανατολικών (αιγυπτιακών και ασσυροβαβυλωνιακών) παραδόσεων χιλιετιών. Το Τζαμί του Σεΐχη Λουτφολλάχ στο Εσφαχάν είναι πολλαπλώς σημαντικώτερο των άχρηστων και ανίερων κτισμάτων που ανήγειρε η σαουδική πανούκλα σε Μέκκα και Μεδίνα με βάρβαρες σύγχρονες μεθόδους κατασκευών. Αλλά σε ομιλίες (Χαντίθ) του, ο προφήτης Μωάμεθ είχε προείπει το τέλος της Μεδίνας και της Μέκκας και την κατάληξη του Ισλάμ στην εξορία. 

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Συμμετρική Ασυμμετρία, το Τζαμί του Σεΐχη Λουτφολλάχ στο Εσφαχάν, και η Μυστηριακή Αρχιτεκτονική του Σιιτικού Μεσσιανισμού


https://greeksoftheorient.wordpress.com/2019/08/13/συμμετρική-ασυμμετρία-το-τζαμί-του-σε/ 

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Οι Ρωμιοί της Ανατολής – Greeks of the Orient

Ρωμιοσύνη, Ρωμανία, Ανατολική Ρωμαϊκή Αυτοκρατορία

Μικρότερο αλλά οικοδομημένο και διακοσμημένο λίγο πριν από το Τζαμί του Σάχη στο Εσφαχάν, πρωτεύουσα του σαφεβιδικού Ιράν, το Τζαμί του Σεΐχη Λουτφολλάχ ανεγέρθηκε στις αρχές του 17ου αιώνα προς τιμήν του πεθερού του Σάχη Αμπάς Α’ (1587-1629).

Για μεγάλο χρονικό διάστημα ήταν ανοικτό μόνο για τα μέλη της αυτοκρατορικής οικογένειας, αντίθετα με το Τζαμί του Σάχη στο οποίο είχαν πρόσβαση όλοι οι πιστοί.

Η μυστηριακή αρχιτεκτονική και διακόσμηση, τα κορανικά εδάφια που επιλέχθηκαν για να αναγραφούν, τα αρχιτεκτονικά σημεία όπου αυτά αναγράφηκαν, οι στίχοι από την ποίηση του Σεΐχη Μπαχαΐ που προστέθηκαν στον διάκοσμο, τα διακοσμητικά θέματα και η περίεργη γεωμετρική υπόστασή τους καθιστούν αυτό το αυτοκρατορικό σαφεβιδικό τζαμί ένα σιιτικό κώδικα αρχιτεκτονικού μεσσιανικού συμβολισμού και μνημείο κρυπτογραφημένων αναφορών στο Πλήρωμα του Χρόνου (αλ Υόμ αλ Άχαρ) και στην τότε εμφάνιση του Ιησού και του Δωδεκάτου Ιμάμη τον οποίο οι Δωδεκατοϊμαμιστές σιίτες ταυτίζουν με τον Μάχντι / Μεσσία του Ισλάμ.

Σε άλλα μνημεία θαυμάζεις την τέχνη. Εδώ πρέπει να στρωθείς στη δουλειά για να βρεις τα μυστικά μηνύματα που απειροελάχιστοι σήμερα είναι ικανοί να εννοούν. Ο έντονα αντι-σουνιτικός χαρακτήρας του αρχιτεκτονικώς αλλόκοτου τζαμιού προδιαγράφει το τι θα δούμε να εκτυλίσσεται μπροστά στα μάτια μας τα επόμενα χρόνια. Με δεδομένο ότι η μητέρα του Δωδεκάτου Ιμάμη ήταν μια Ρωμιά, το τζαμί έχει τόση σημασία για τους Ιρανούς Σιίτες όση και για τους Ρωμιούς Ορθόδοξους.

Θα επαναληφθεί άραγε στα προσεχή χρόνια η παλιά μυστική συμμαχία των αντικαθεστωτικών Σιιτών των χρόνων της αβασιδικής Βαγδάτης με τους Ακρίτες της Ρωμιοσύνης και πολεμιστές της Ρωμανίας που υπό τον Διγενή Ακρίτα κράτησαν τα σύνορα στον Ευφράτη για αιώνες;

Τυπικό δείγμα συμμετρικώς ασύμμετρης διακόσμησης είναι οι λεμονόσχημες ελλειπτικές φόρμες αραβουργημάτων στον κεντρικό θόλο που δίνουν ταυτόχρονα την αίσθηση της εγγύτητας / προσέγγισης και του απείρου / απομάκρυνσης:

Δείτε το βίντεο:

Το Μυστηριακό Τζαμί του Σεΐχη Λουτφολλάχ στο Εσφαχάν – Мечеть шейха ЛотфоллыИсфахан

https://www.ok.ru/video/1475269167725

Мечеть шейха ЛотфоллыИсфахан – Sheikh Lotfollah MosqueIsfahan

https://vk.com/video434648441_456240278

Το Μυστηριακό Τζαμί του Σεΐχη Λουτφολλάχ στο Εσφαχάν: Αναγγελία Συμμαχίας Ρωμιοσύνης και Ιράν;

Shaikh LofAllāh Mosque

The second, chronologically speaking, of the significant mosques of Isfahan is the mosque that was built across from the ʿĀli Qāpu Palace on the Meydān-e Naqš-e Jahān, which came to be associated with Shaikh Lof-Allāh (d. 1032/1623), the father-in-law of Shah ʿAbbās the Great and one of the principal religious doctors of his time (Blair and Bloom, pp. 185-90; Honarfar, 1965, pp. 404-5). Shaikh Lof-Allāh Mosque is unique among Isfahans mosques in several respects. Consisting of a single domed chamber, all the standard features of a four-ayvān courtyard-centered mosque, including minarets, are foregone here, for this is a mosque designed to serve private royal functions rather than congregational prayer (Honarfar, 1965, pp. 401-15; Mehrābādi, pp. 693-710).

Covering almost 2,500 square meters, the Shaikh Lof-Allāh Mosque was conceived as an integral part of Shah ʿAbbāss conversion of Isfahan into his new imperial capital. Construction of the mosque began in 1011/1602-3 and was completed in 1028/1618-19. Epigraphic bands penned by ʿAli-Reżā ʿAbbāsi, the famous calligrapher of this period, grace both the exterior façade and the extensive interior decoration of the mosque (Honarfar, 1965, pp. 402, 407-10). The mosque functioned as a private royal-chapel mosque.

By placing the royal mosque outside the palace compound on the Meydān and across the ʿĀli Qāpu, Shah ʿAbbās and his urban designers and advisors exploited the symbolic value of traversing the public space by the household; to go to the Shaikh Lof-Allāh Mosque would become a performative representation of royal piety.

The pairing of the ʿĀli Qāpu Palace and the Shaikh Lof-Allāh Mosque thus symbolized, both in theory and practice, the worldly and otherworldly sources of Safavid legitimacy. As the blessed mosque (al-majed al-mobārak) of the great sultan,” ʿAli-Reżā ʿAbbāsis epigraphic program on the entrance façade (dated 1012/1603) further enunciated this ideological role of the mosque (Honarfar, 1965, p. 402).

The association of the mosque with Shaikh Lof-Allāh, the first chief clergy of the mosque, was to demonstrate the final and firm establishment by Shah ʿAbbās of the legalistic or šariʿa-based practice of Twelver Shiʿism as the religion of the Safavid Empire. It is in this light also that one finds inside the domed chamber epigraphic panels in tiles, wherein the shaikh’s name is mentioned at the end of a poem in Arabic, invoking the names of the Fourteen Infallibles and pleading intercession for Shaikh Lof-Allāh in the hereafter (done by the otherwise unknown calligrapher Bāqer Bannā; see Honarfar, 1965, pp. 413-15).

This oft-overlooked passage is tentatively attributed to Shaikh Bahāʾ-al-Din ʿĀmeli on the basis of a reference in the poem on the other panel.

Like the Masjed-e Šāh, the orientation of the Shaikh Lof-Allāh Mosque is skewed in relation to the Meydān, thus allowing the mosque to conform to the direction of prayer. To compensate for the skewed axis, a covered corridor reaches from the entrance façade and wraps around the northern side of the mosque to enter the prayer chamber, so that the façade of the mosque can remain aligned with the Meydān.

The façade is covered in tile mosaic work and the portal contains the first monumental variation of the Safavid declaration, standardized by Shah ʿAbbās the Great, of the shah to be the “propagator of the faith of the Infallible Imams” (Honarfar, 1965, p. 402; Babaie, in EIr., p. 499). The façade, much of it restored in the 1930s, was made to be flush with the inner corridor of the Meydān periphery bazaar and was decorated with a mix of marble on the lower half and haft rangi tiles of densely interlocking floral and vegetal motifs and bands of inscription on the upper zones.

The haft rangi technique, also known as cuerda secca or burnt-coil, allowed for a more economical and faster production than the laborious and expensive mosaic tile technique favored by earlier Safavid and Timurid periods.

Given the massive constructions of the early 17th century and the consequent expansion in the area of building surfaces to be sheathed in tiles, this proved to be the most common technology in Isfahan and practically replaced the mosaic technique.

The Shaikh Lof-Allāh Mosque is also distinguished for the elegantly tapered silhouette of its dome, which further stands out for its golden yellow and blue arabesques and inscriptions against a predominantly earth-colored unglazed tile work. The interior of the domed chamber, on the other hand, is given to an extravagant explosion of tiles predominantly in blue on all surfaces except for the inner dome where a roundel (šamsa) in yellow gives the illusion of the sun shining from within.

Equally impressive is the ingenious way the dome is held aloft by a ring of windows at the base of the dome, which is itself resting on large corner squinches that rise directly from the floor and are supported by eight-pointed arches.

These arches are outlined by a turquoise twisted molding that is framed by a number of inlays of inscriptions and floral patterns.

A balcony cut above the entrance into the chamber looks down onto the prayer niche elaborately decorated in tiles and carved marble. In keeping with the royal associations of the mosque, this single chambered structure is a veritable jewel-box, an extravaganza of Safavid architecture and decoration.

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/isfahan-x3-mosques

Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque

Esfahan is one of the oldest cities of Iran located 414 km south of Tehran and 481 km north of Shiraz.

This 2500 years old city served as Persia’s capital from 1598 to 1722.

Esfahan was a crossroad of international trade and diplomacy, and therefore was a kaleidoscope of resident languages, religions, and customs.

The city is known for its silver filigree and metal work.

This city is renowned not only for the abundance of great historical monuments, but also for its Life-Giving River, The Zayandeh-Rood, which has given the city an original beauty and a fertile land. Esfahan is filled with old gardens and some of the best sights in Iran.

After selection of Esfahan as capital by Shah Abbas I (1587-1629) who unified Persia it reached to its pinnacle of briskness.

Esfahan had parks, libraries and mosques that amazed Europeans, who had not seen anything like this at home.

The Persians called it Nisf-e-Jahan, half the world; meaning that to see it was to see half the world.

Esfahan became one of the world’s most elegant cities.

In its heyday it was also one of the largest with a population of one million; 163 mosques, 48 religious schools, 1801 shops and 263 public baths.

Today, Esfahan is a major industrial center and also is one of the important tourism centers of Iran and the world.

The cool blue tiles of Isfahan’s Islamic buildings, and the city’s majestic bridges, contrast perfectly with the hot, dry Iranian countryside around it: Isfahan is a sight you won’t forget.

It’s a city for walking, getting lost in the bazaar, dozing in beautiful gardens, and meeting people.

Still sometimes known as Naghsh-e-Jahan Square, this huge, open square is one of the largest in the world (500m by 160m), and a majestic example of town planning.

Built in 1612, many of the most interesting sights in Isfahan are clustered around the square, and it’s a place you just keep coming back to again and again.It is an important historical site and one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.

It is 160 meters wide by 508 meters long (an area of 89,600 m2).

The square is surrounded by buildings from the Safavid era. The Imam Mosque is situated on the south side of this square. On the west side you can find Ali Qapu Palace.

Immediately opposite the Royal Palace of Ali Qapu stands one of the loveliest mosques in Iran: the Sheikh Lotfallah Mosque.

Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque is situated on the eastern side of this square and the northern side opens into the Isfahan Grand Bazaar.

Sheikh Lotfollah mosque was built during Shah Abbas time, and dedicated to his father-in-law, Sheikh Lotfollah, a prominent religious scholar and teacher who came to Isfahan at the orders of Shah ‘Abbas, and resided on the site, but was never involved in the mosque’s construction.

Sheikh Lotfallah was born in Mess, which is currently in the Lebanon.

Like his family he was a member of the Imami, or Shi’ite sect and was encouraged to take up residence in Iran under the Safavid rulers as part of the policy of promoting Shi’ism in Iran, along with other followers of this tradition from Bahrain.

At first he lived in Mashed, where the second holiest of Shi’ite shrines is located, that of Imam Reza, but, partly due to the political instability of the area at the time and partly because of pressure from Shah Abbas, he took refuge first in Qazvin and then in Isfahan, where he seems to have acquired a son-in-law and patron at the same time.

It was probably he who introduced the great mathematician, Sheikh Baha Al-Din Mohammed Ameli, otherwise known as Sheikh Bahai, who designed the famous sundial in the Royal Mosque, to Shah Abbas. Sheikh Lotfallah died in 1622.

This beautifully proportioned and decorated mosque, with some of the best mosaics from that era, took nearly 20 years to complete.

The pale tiles of the dome change color, from cream through to pink, depending on the light conditions and the mosque is unusual because it has no minaret or courtyard.

The figure painted in the middle of the floor under the dome is a peacock at certain times of the day. The sunlight enhances the peacock’s tail.

The mosque was once called the Women’s Mosque, because there is apparently a tunnel between this mosque and the Ali Qapu palace, allowing women from the old dynasties to attend prayers without being seen in public.

The portal iwan is not aligned with the Naghsh-e-Jahan Square’s elevation, but is preceded by a recessed small court which flows from the Square and is linked, on its north and south sides, to the continuous corridor that envelopes the Square’s mercantile facilities.

The main entrance to the mosque is located on the east side of this small court. The structure itself is not aligned perpendicularly to the Square’s eastern wall, but lies at an angle (almost 45 degrees) against the Square’s wall.

As a result, when viewed from the Square, the mosque’s main portal iwan and dome do not fall on the same axis, as is always the case in other mosques, but instead the dome appears behind the main portal iwan as if having slid 6.5 meters to the right from its axis.

This asymmetrical layout was initially introduced to reconcile the (southwest) direction of Mecca with the placement of the mihrab on the qibla wall, and adds visual complexity to the structure.

Contrary to the Square’s sand-colored brick elevation, the portal iwan is elaborately ornamented in colorful mosaics. It is built as a recessed area on the eastern wall of the court, an elevated platform raised by four steps from the court level.

An inscription band in white on a dark blue background runs horizontally on the three sides of the portal niche, above which begins the iwan’s vault, comprising four clusters of muqarnases made of small glazed-tiles units. These four clusters ascend to inscribe a concentric floral medallion.

The pointed-arch doorway is located below the inscription band and is flanked by two panels of mosaics of floral arabesques with motifs in yellow, white, and blue on a dark blue background. These panels rest on top of a continuous marble dado.

The offset entry does not allow the visitor to enter the prayer chamber directly from the Square by passing through the main portal iwan, which is aligned on the east-west axis.

Due to the mosque’s alignment on the northeast-southwest axis, upon entering the mosque one walks along two corridors, oriented respectively to the northeast and southeast, which are placed adjacent to the northwest and northeast walls of the prayer chamber.

Turning southwest to face the qibla wall, one enters the domed chamber to see the mihrab on the opposite wall. This journey into gradual deepening into darkness and reemergence into a room bathed with light reflected on the glazed revetment is one of the most rewarding experiences of the building.

In contrast to the grand size of the Square’s space, the Sheikh Lotfollah mosque is very small and is comprised of a single domed chamber (19 meters on a side), surrounded by rooms (which possibly functioned as service areas) on its sides, and preceded by a portal iwan overlooking the Square.

The two rooms accessed from the corridor which envelopes the sanctuary dome measure 6 by 9 meters; one is found on the western side of the corridor, and the other along the far end of the eastern wall.

A third room (8 by 16 meters) is located on the exterior of the southern wall of the sanctuary, and is accessed via the corridor running along the Square wall and then turning right after the vestibule area. Although the Sheikh Lotfollah is not one rectangular structure, its masses can be measured as one rectangular area of 44 by 30 meters and an additional rectangular service area comprising approximately 152 square meters.

The dome is one of the few single-shell domes of the Safavid architecture with a structure consisting of three levels. Four squinches of pointed-arched panels, framed by an inscription band in white and blue demarcated by light blue cable moldings, ascend from the floor and support a sixteen kite-shaped shields that, in turn, support the drum, which comprises sixteen arched panels.

The drum is ornamented with alternating double-grilles windows with an arabesque pattern.

The interior dome has a sunburst from which descend medallions inscribing floral motifs, which become larger as they descend away from the center.

The exterior of the dome is ornamented with an arabesque of a floral motif in white, blue, and black against a yellow background.

The Sheikh Lotfollah mosque is viewed by historians and visitors as one of the most important architectural projects built on Isfahan’s Square, prominent for its location, scale, design, and ornament.

It represents the best example of architecture and tile work of Iran in the 17th century.

The beauty of its buff dome fills visitors with enchantment.

This mosque differs from all others in several respects.

http://www.iranreview.org/content/Documents/Sheikh_Lotfollah_Mosque.htm

Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque

A masterpiece of world’s architecture was built during the reign of Shah Abbas the great. Sheikh Lotfollah was one of Shiite prominent, preachers and clergies who came from Jabal Amel in Lebanon to Isfahan. The Shah Abbas supported him and the Sheikh took up residence in Isfahan and the sheikh Lotfollah mosque was named after him.

The mosque was used as a Theological school and also as a royal mosque. It was started to be built in 1602 and it was completed in 1619. First the portal was built to complete the Maidan, to be a part of great Naghshe Jahan Square and it is said it was used as a private mosque for the Shah and royal family. The plan and layout of the mosque is different from other four Eivans Iranian mosques.

It is rather a small mosque without courtyard and minarets, but interior and exterior ornamentations are unbelievable for visitors.

The entrance of the mosque is located opposite of Ali Qapu palace. As soon as we enter the mosque, we pass through a dim- lit corridor which is connected to the sanctuary of the mosque. The mentioned corridor was built for two purposes. First when entering the sanctuary our face will be in direction of Mecca (Qibleh).

Second light outside the mosque is sharp and strong, but in the main parts (sanctuary) light is dim. Passing through the dim- lit corridor for few seconds, our eyes will be adjusted to dim light and when we enter the main part, we will be able to see the glory and beauty of the mosque as real as possible.

The mosque is famous for calligraphies made of tile- mosaic, for excellent patterns and designs of tile- mosaic which has decorated major parts of portal, corridor and the main sanctuary. Splendid blue, yellow and cream colours of tile- mosaics are unique all over the world.

The dome of sanctuary (Prayer Hall) and polychromes of tile and tile mosaic are splendid. The back- ground of tile mosaic designs is unglazed cream colours bricks. The Solth calligraphy of interior and exterior parts is the best kind in the Islamic world of art and architecture. Calligraphy is written in azure blue with white back- ground.

Ali Reza Abbasi one of the most famous calligraphers of Iran has written major parts of mentioned calligraphy.

The prayer hall was built on a square plan which is converted into a circular base the dome is located on the top of it. The area of the mosque is 1324 square meters, and the dome is 32 meters high and also 12 meters in diameters. There are 16 windows around the lower part of the dome with equal size and shape and equal intervals. These windows reflect day- light to upper parts of dome just like flood- lights.

The prayer- niche of the mosque is decorated with the most delicate tile mosaic. There is a large window located at the north of the mosque, located lower than the drum of dome. This window (aperture) not only circulates the fresh air into the mosque, but also just like flood- light brightens the Mehrab located on the opposite side southern.

There is a winter gallery (Beit-ol-Shata) under the ground level with 16 huge pillars, and simply decorated with mono- colour square tiles and plaster.

There are two small inscriptions in Persian language on two sides of Mehrab’s wall, showing name of the architect saying “a poor humble man begging the mercy of Allah. Ostad Horrian builder from Isfahan”.

The Sheikh Lotfollah mosque is a philosophical complex. Each part of its decoration covers certain religious messages, in fact book must be written regarding facts and message of the ornamentation.

http://www.isfahan.ir/ShowPage.aspx?page_=form&order=show&lang=3&sub=70&PageId=4546&codeV=1&tempname=iadim

Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque Isfahan, Naghsh-e-Jahan Square 

By Mohammad Yazdi Rad, Noor Art & Architecture Atelier

Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque (Persian: مسجد شیخ لطف الله) is one of the architectural masterpieces of Iranian architecture that was built during the Safavid Empire, standing on the eastern side of Naghsh-i Jahan Square, Esfahan, Iran. Construction of the mosque started in 1603 and was finished in 1619. It was built by the chief architect Shaykh Bahai, during the reign of Shah Abbas I of Persia.

http://vimania.ru/w/blog/2018/01/17/sheikh-lotfollah-mosque/

Επίσης:

https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/isfahan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Lotfollah_Mosque

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Мечеть_шейха_Лотфоллы

https://ru.unesco.org/silkroad/content/isfahan

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