On first viewing as I approached, the mosque was honestly underwhelming. I had read about the wondrous nature of its dome, and so was naively expecting a dazzling tiled beauty. Instead, there was a dome of faded brick, rising above a construction site plaza. I was also looking at the wrong dome; the ‘perfect’ one is considerably smaller than the other, and thus less visible from afar.

Once entering the mosque proper, however, this disappointment ebbed away. The interior of the two domes was both striking architecturally and aesthetically, high above the ground and decorated extensively. As someone uneducated in the field of architecture, I was not able to fully appreciate the nuance of the domes’ dimensions, and how they differed from the many other domes I have seen, but it was still a satisfying experience.

The view of the four famed iwans from the central area was unfortunately marred by scaffolding covering one of them, but the view of workers removing and replacing tiles at the very top was an interesting consolation prize. The lack of any harness at that height made the experience slightly nerve-wracking. The gaze of the ayatollahs emerging from beneath the network of poles was also a somewhat amusing image. I also really enjoyed the sad little UNESCO plastic plaque sitting in the middle of the courtyard, atop a dry fountain pool area.

Some advice, however; I arrived at opening time (9am), and had the mosque to myself for about 10 minutes, at which point the first tour group arrived. By 9:30, there were 3 of them at once. This was hardly overwhelming, as the grounds are vast, but the experience feels a lot more intimate without a few dozen tourists standing in the middle of the square.