The Takieh Mo’aven ol-Molk is Iran's finest Hosseinieh, a distinctively Shiite shrine where plays are acted out during the Islamic month of Moharram to commemorate the martyrdom in 680 of Imam Hossein at Karbala. Enter downstairs, through a courtyard and a domed central chamber decorated with grisly scenes from the Karbala battle.
The shrine remains very much active, with pilgrims kissing the doors and being genuinely moved by the footprint of Ali (Hossein's father) on the wall of the second courtyard. This is set amid tiles depicting a wild gamut of images, from Quranic scenes to pre-Islamic motifs including Shahnameh kings, European villages and local notables in 19th-century costumes.
The building to the right is now an ethnographic museum displaying regional costumes.
