The Monar Jonban (Persian: منار جنبان, romanized: shaking minarets), is a monument located in Isfahan, Iran. It was intended as a shrine, built over the grave of the Sufi asceticAmu Abdullah Suqla. Construction on the building started in the era of the Ilkhanate, but it was finished during the Safavid Empire.[1] The most notable feature of the building are the minarets, which both shake and sway when one of them is shook.[2]
History
Monar Jonban in the year 1873
A shrine over the grave of the ascetic Abdullah ibn Muhammad was constructed in 1316 by Öljaitü.[3] The building was renovated by Safavid Iran and was ultimately completed by the architect and Twelver Shi'a scholar Baha al-Din al-Amili.[4] The structure had no minarets at first; the twin minarets were added by the Safavids.[5] A cemetery used to surround the building as well.[6]
Architecture
The building is decorated with blue tiles and multi-sided turquoise stones. The general outlook of the building displays the style of Mongolian masonry, but Safavid influence is present in the iwan of the building and the minarets. Bricks with higher rates of elasticity were used in the construction.[7]
The twin minarets are 17.5 metres tall. Each of them are topped with a blue dome. They are accessible via a staircase, which is no longer permitted and only the caretaker can access it for shaking them.[8] The graves of Amu Abdullah and another personality are inside the building, at the very end.
The Monar Jonban includes two small rooms, that were known as 'Chelah Khanah' during the time of its construction. Both rooms were used by ascetics and mystics to indulge in their rituals and stay in their seclusion.[9]
The shaking minarets
The building's name, Monar Jonban, is derived from the pair of minarets, which shake in harmony with each other when one of them is shook.[10][11] This gimmick, however, is not available to the public, but they can witness it at certain times.[12]
Gallery
Front view
A near view of the left minaret
A near view of the right minaret
The tomb of Amu Abdullah Suqla al-Karladani within the Monar Jonban
Some old graves, plastered over with cement tombstones, next to the tomb of Amu Abdullah Suqla
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monar Jonban.
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