Christmas in Iran

In honour of Christmas in July, here is a post about Christmastime in Isfahan.

 In New Julfa, the Armenian Christian neighbourhood of Isfahan, there were signs of Christmas around.  Shop windows were decorated for the season:

Even the locals were getting into the Christmas spirit:



Above is a tree set up in a luxury mall in Julfa (note the Dolce and Gabbana store!).

At the Vank (Armenian Orthodox) Cathedral the visitors were excited to take photos with the Christmas decor:

Even my inlaws were eager to take their photos with the Christmas decor!
 And several shops were selling Christmas gear:

We even bought some Christmas balls at this shop to add to the small tree we had brought from home.

Inside the Blue Mosque

The famous Imam Mosque (Masjed-e Imam) or Shah Mosque (Masjed-e Shah) sits at one end of the expansive Imam Square, the large public square in Isfahan.  It is covered in hundreds of thousands of hand-painted blue tiles. 



I thought it was the most beautiful mosque I saw on my trip (and not just because my favourite colour is blue!).



The original entry door is massive!


Here's my sister-in-law trying to reach the handle.



Inside the mosque are several sections of outdoor courtyards and indoor areas.


















It is still used for Friday prayers.  These are the carpets that are spread out on Fridays.



This is a perch for leading prayers from.



A beautiful place for spiritual enlightenment!

The Blue Mosque of Isfahan

At the head of Imam Square in Isfahan is the beautiful blue mosque.  It's not the only blue mosque, but it's the largest and most famous one.  It is huge both inside and out (about 140 000 square feet!).  It was built in the 1600's by Shah Abbas, hence the original name of the Shah Mosque (Masjed-e Shah ).  After the revolution it has become known as Imam Mosque (Masjed-e Imam).

And that's all just the outside of the mosque!!  I'll feature the inside on another post.