Iran
Meidan Emam, Esfahan
Meidan Emam, Esfahan is one of the largest city squares in the world.
It was used in Persian socio-cultural life (for parades, celebrations and public executions) during the Safavid era. The square is surrounded by a homogenous ensemble of important historical buildings that were built over a short time span, such as the Shah Mosque, Ali Qapu Palace, Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque and the Isfahan Grand Bazaar.
Community Perspective: “The darling of the Iranian tourism industry”. The best views of the square overall are to be had from the balcony of the Ali Qapu Palace, while the Emam or Shah Mosque is the square’s most striking component and the Sheik Lotfallah Mosque has a beautiful interior.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Meidan Emam, Esfahan (ID: 115)
- Country
- Iran
- Status
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Inscribed 1979
Site history
History of Meidan Emam, Esfahan
- 1979: Inscribed
- Inscribed
- WHS Type
- Cultural
- Criteria
- i
- v
- vi
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- visitiran.ir — Visit Iran
News Article
- July 19, 2022 bbc.com — Isfahan's Shah Mosque: iconic Iranian site damaged in restoration
- Sept. 29, 2009 tehrantimes.com — Restorations are gradually resulting in a historic destruction at Isfahan
- Sept. 23, 2006 mehrnews.ir — Modification of Jahan-Nama Tower falls short of UNESCO regulations
Community Information
- Community Category
- Religious structure: Islamic
Travel Information
Red Zone Travel Advisory
Isfahan Hotspot
Recent Connections
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Perfect Inscriptions
1979 -
World Craft Cities
"a center of multiple crafts being prac… -
Red Zone Travel Advisory
Iran fully off-limits
Connections of Meidan Emam, Esfahan
- Individual People
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Sir Wilfred Thesiger
1949See prmprints.com
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Timur
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- Trivia
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Total Solar Eclipse since Inscription
11 August, 1999 -
WHS within walking distance
Isfahan city center -
On Banknotes
Naqsh-e Jahan Square on 50,000 rials note 1992See www.banknote.ws
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Tobu World Square
Masjed-e Emam
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- History
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Located in a Former Capital
Shah Abbas the Great 16th century - 1722 -
Silk Roads
(Near) Classic Land Route; in ICOMOS thematic study but no details on role or function
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- Architecture
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Muqarnas
Shah Mosque -
Glazed tiles
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Timurid Architecture
15th Centruy Timurid Palace (Ali Qapu Palace)
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- Damaged
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'Threatened' by Tunnels
"State of conservation report raised concerns about the Metro now well under construction parts due to open in 2012) whc.unesco.org/en/soc/252 The 2012 WHC decided as follows "... requests the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission to the property to consider the impact of the current metro constructions on the property and its wider setting;" -
Damaged in War since WWII
"hit by a rocket during the recent attacks on Iranian cities" (1988 SOC report) - Iran-Iraq War
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- World Heritage Process
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Perfect Inscriptions
1979
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- Religion and Belief
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Notable mosques
Shah mosque - 17th century - Shia -
Shia Islam
The Safavids were responsible for converting Iran to Shiism. The mosques, built as part of the transfer of the Safavid capital to Isfahan by Shah Abbas I, emphasise their "Shia" nature in their Calligraphy. In the Masjed-e Imam "the iwan pointing to east ....... contains an inscription by calligrapher Muhammad Riza Imami praising the Fourteen Immaculate Ones (i.e., Muhammad, Fatimah and the Twelve Imams)" (Wiki). In the Sheikh Lotf Allah mosque "The inscriptions of the Mosque reflect matters that were preoccupying the shah around the time it was built; namely the need to define Twelver Shiism in contrast to Sunni Islam, and the Persian resistance to Ottoman invasion" (Wiki)
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- Human Activity
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Locations for playing sport
Maidan Shah (Polo)
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- Constructions
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Bazaars and Market Halls
Isfahan Grand Bazaar -
Large squares
Naqshe Jahan Square (Meidan Shah), 90000 m2
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- WHS on Other Lists
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World Craft Cities
"a center of multiple crafts being practiced for generations, such as miniature arts, metal engraving, marquetry, wood engraving, enamel, brocade weaving, etc."
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- Timeline
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Built in the 17th century
Square was constructed between 1598 and 1629, its main buildings Portia of Qeyssariyeh (1602-19), the Royal Mosque (1612-30), the Mosque of Sheyx Loffollah (1602-18)
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- WHS Hotspots
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Isfahan Hotspot
In Isfahan city center
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- Visiting conditions
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Red Zone Travel Advisory
Iran fully off-limits
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- WHS Names
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Untranslated Toponyms
"Meidan" means a town square or a public gathering place in Persian, Urdu, Arabic, Turkish, Bangla et al. It is often used as a part of the name of places that have historical or cultural significance. -
Name changes
Inscribed in October 1979 as "Meidan e-Shah". All references to the Shah were removed in Iran soon after the Shah departed in Jan 1979.
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News
- bbc.com 07/19/2022
- Isfahan's Shah Mosque: iconic Iran…
- tehrantimes.com 09/29/2009
- Restorations are gradually resulti…
- mehrnews.ir 09/23/2006
- Modification of Jahan-Nama Tower f…
Recent Visitors
Visitors of Meidan Emam, Esfahan
- AC
- Adrian Turtschi
- Afshin Iranpour
- Alexander Barabanov
- Alexander Lehmann
- Alexander Parsons
- alexandrcfif
- Alfons and Riki Verstraeten
- Ali Zingstra
- A. Mehmet Haksever
- Ammon Watkins
- Artur Anuszewski
- Ask Gudmundsen
- Aspasia
- Atila Ege
- AYB
- Bamse
- BaziFettehenne
- Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero
- BH
- Bill Maurmann
- Bram de Bruin
- Bspooner
- Carlo Sarion
- Chalamphol Therakul
- Chen Taotao
- Christian Wagner
- David Marton
- Dimitrios Polychronopoulos
- Dorejd
- DouglasR
- Eric Lurio
- Erik Jelinek
- Eva Kisgyorgy
- Fan Yibo
- fedemarch92
- ferhatdonmez
- Fernweh
- Fmaiolo@yahoo.com
- fmannucci
- George Gdanski
- GerhardM
- ge zhang
- Haining Guan
- Hammeel
- Hanming
- Harald T.
- Harry Mitsidis
- Iain Jackson
- Ivan Rucek
- Izzet Ege
- Jacob Otten
- janis
- Jarek Pokrzywnicki
- Javier
- Jean Lecaillon
- Jonas Kremer
- Jon Opol
- Joyce van Soest
- Juha Sjoeblom
- Juropa
- jxrocky
- Ken DJ
- Kevin247
- kiank37
- Knut
- Krijn
- LaVale
- liu tuo
- Loic Pedras
- Luis Filipe Gaspar
- Maciej Gil
- Malgorzata Kopczynska
- marcel staron
- Marcobrey
- Martina Rúčková
- Marton Kemeny
- MaYumin
- merveil
- Michael anak Kenyalang
- Michal Kozok
- Michal Marciniak
- Mikko
- Milan Jirasek
- Miloš Tašković
- MoPython
- Morodhi
- Naim Y
- Niall Sclater
- Nihal Ege
- opperpco3
- Pablo Tierno
- Palimpsesto
- Patrik_globe
- Peter Day
- Philipp Leu
- Pieter Dijkshoorn
- Reisedachs
- Reza
- Richardleesa
- Riomussafer
- Rodinia
- Roger Ourset
- Roman Bruehwiler
- Roman Koeln
- Royacurt
- Sascha Grabow
- Sergio Arjona
- SHIHE HUANG
- Socon
- Solivagant
- Ssong.x
- Stanislaw Warwas
- Szucs Tamas
- Tarquinio_Superbo
- Thomas Buechler
- Thomas van der Walt
- Timothy C Easton
- Tinamu
- Tom Allen
- Tony H.
- triath
- Werner Huber
- Westwards
- Wieland
- Wojciech Fedoruk
- Wo_ko
- Xiquinho Silva
- Yongcheng Liu
- Zizmondka
- Zoë Sheng
Community Reviews
Show full reviews
I thought of reviewing an Iranian UNESCO World Heritage Site in light of Trump’s recent threat to the country’s cultural sites. Sheer insanity I thought, but thankfully, the Pentagon just completely ignored him as blasting cultural heritage sites constitutes a war crime. Date of Visit: December 2016.
Esfahan was the second city I visited during my backpacking trip to the country 3 years ago, and I truly enjoyed it. My first day in this city was spent in this square and the adjacent grand bazaar, taking heaps of photos and observing locals and tourists stroll, eat, shop, play and socialise. Meidan Emam is bounded in all sides by a 2-storey arcade, interrupted in the four cardinal directions by the following beautiful monuments and the Qeysarie gate of Esfahan’s grand bazaar:
- Ali Qapu Palace – as mentioned by Alexander, the view of the square from its balcony is stunning. From a casual traveler, I appreciate its beautiful ornamentation, design and architecture.
- Masjed-e Shah – the site’s UNESCO page mentions that it “remains the most celebrated example of the colorful architecture, which reached its high point in Iran under the Safavid dynasty”. At the time of my visit, scaffolding could be seen surrounding one side of the mosque’s dome. For some reason I could not recollect, it deterred me from going inside the mosque. Stupid me, I should’ve at least tried.
- Sheik Lotfallah Mosque - in terms of its interior, it is THE most beautiful mosque I …

The fact that the Meidan Emam was inscribed so early in the life of World Heritage is hardly a surprise; this square is the darling of the Iranian tourism industry, and rightly so. An interesting point to consider is this timing of the submission and acceptance of this site to the World Heritage List; the 1979 World Heritage Convention occurred in May, only a few months after the Islamic Revolution. The reference in the ICOMOS evaluation of 1979, and the other 1979 documents available on the UNESCO website, makes reference to the ‘Meidan-e Shah’, and the ‘Shah Mosque’, without any mention of the renaming of these components by the new regime. I guess the new Islamic Republic valued the prestige of the nomination enough to still accept it, though evidently with a name change, as the 1988 report makes no mention of the deposed shah. I am unsure of the precise nature of this process of naming; probably an unreported element of the 1979 convention?
The square, apart from the open space itself, has three main components. The obvious first stop is the Ali Qapu Palace, renowned more for its view of the square than for its own sake. This is unsurprising; while the palace has some nice ornamentation, especially on the top floor, the view is the real star here.
The Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque , directly opposite the palace, is unusual in that it has no courtyard or minaret, and comprises simply of a corridor and prayer room beneath …
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