Mashhad
Imam Reza’s Holy Shrine is enveloped in a vast series of sacred precincts collectively known as the Haram-e Razavi, or Haram for short. This magical city…
Mashhad
Imam Reza’s Holy Shrine is enveloped in a vast series of sacred precincts collectively known as the Haram-e Razavi, or Haram for short. This magical city…
Mashhad
Amid tearful prayer and meditation, the climax to any Mashhad pilgrimage is touching and kissing the zarih (gold-latticed cage), which covers Imam Reza’s…
Mashhad
All a-dazzle with intricate, mirror-faceted tiling, this former courtyard is now enclosed and entirely covered by a sparkling ceiling held in place by…
Mashhad
This beautifully proportioned, blue-domed mausoleum commemorates an apostle of the prophet Mohammad who later exiled himself to Khorasan to avoid tensions…
Mashhad
This eclectic museum kicks off with chunks of now-superseded shrine decor interspersed with contemporary sporting medals presented by pious athletes,…
Mashhad
Elsewhere in the Middle East, Nader Shah is considered something of a historical tyrant. But here he’s a local hero for briefly returning Khorasan to the…
Mashhad
Just outside the Haram complex’s official limits sits this splendid 15th-century mosque, originally built as a Timurid-era tomb. It is famous for its mo…
Mashhad
Exploring the Haram you might glimpse the 50m blue dome and cavernous golden portal of this classic Timurid mosque, built from 1405 to 1418. Unfortunately…
Mashhad
The main delight of this spacious museum in a former bathhouse is the central dome's 1922 naive murals featuring anthropomorphic figures gallivanting…
Mashhad
Arguably the Haram's best museum. Rugs displayed here range from beautiful classics through to garish coral gardens and a Tabriz-made carpet-portrait of…
Mashhad
The small, 17th-century blue-domed tomb of scholar and mystic Momen Mashhadi forms a pretty sight in the middle of a traffic circle. The last remaining…
Mashhad
Behind heavy wooden doors, this 90-year-old caravanserai is full of underwear stalls run by Afghan merchants. It's fascinating for its cameo scenes of…
Molla Hashem Ardebilehi Mosque
Mashhad
With its eye-catching clock tower, the Molla Hashem Mosque is a useful landmark at the north edge of the Haram area.
Mashhad
The Haram's northwestern entrance is a work in progress, with beautiful twin minarets under construction above the portal.
Bab-ol Navvab Safavi Entry Gate
Mashhad
The eastern entrance gate and checkpoint to the Haram complex.