Culture & Heritage

As the cultural capital of Muslim countries for 2006, Isfahan will be given a museum to represent the Muslim world.


Isfahan city has been chosen as the cultural capital of Muslim countries for the year 2006 by the cultural section of the Organization of the Islamic Capital and Cities, and to welcome the selection, the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Iran (ICHTO) is to establish a museum of the Muslim world in the city.


“All the cultural organisations of the province are taking measures to take advantage of such an important opportunity to introduce the cultural and historical attractions of Isfahan. One of our important programmes is to establish a museum which reflects the Islamic art, history, and civilization.,” says Ahmad Adib, head of the cultural department of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Isfahan province.


Every year a city is selected by the Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities as the cultural capital of the Muslim world. In 2005, Makkah and in 2004, Aleppo city in Syria were chosen as cultural capitals by the organization and for 2006, Isfahan has won the title.


The establishment of the museum in the upper floor of the structure around the Naghsh-e-Jahan square has been considered as the location for the big museum of Naghsh-e-Jahan in which all the attractions of Isfahan province including traditional arts, natural, and archaeological attractions are supposed to be exhibited so that all tourists who visit Isfahan can get familiar with the culture and attractions of the province. The museum is to give them a whole picture of all aspects of the province,” explains Adib.


There are 200 rooms, all in the same size and style built in two storeys around the world famous square. Each room of the first floor consists of two sections, one facing the square and the other room facing the bazaar. The rooms in the upper floor were being used as trade centers and caravan serai during the Safavid and Qajar eras.


Isfahan is located about 340 km south of Tehran, in Zayandeh-Rud plain, at the foothills of the Zagros mountain range. It is the third largest city of Iran. Isfahan has been designated by UNESCO as a world heritage city. It contains a wide variety of Islamic architectural sites ranging from the 11th century to the 19th. Isfahan flourished from 1050 to 1722, particularly in the 16th century under the Safavid dynasty, when it was the capital of Persia.

The Taj-ul-Masaajid in Bhopal is one of the largest mosques in Asia.


Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, is a fascinating amalgam of scenic beauty, old historic city, and modern urban planning. According to the States Reorganization Act in 1956, Bhopal state was integrated into the state of Madhya Pradesh, and Bhopal was declared as its capital.


The Taj-ul-Masaajid in Bhopal is one of the largest mosques in Asia, built by Shahjehan Begum. The building of this mosque was started by Begum, between 1868-1901 and completed in 1971. The most impressive features of the mosque are its main hall with inter-arched roof, broad facade, spacious courtyard, and smooth marble flooring. It is built around a courtyard with a large tank in the centre and with an imposing double storeyed gate-way with 4 recessed archways and 9 imposing cusped multi-foiled openings in the main prayer hall. The Quibla wall in the prayer hall is carved with 11 recessed arches, while the mimber is made of black basalt. The structure is enlivened by the limpid expanse of water in the tank outside the northern wall. The monumentality of this structure was much greater originally when it faced the towering bastions of the Fatehgarh Fort. Interestingly,


Taj-ul Masaajid, perhaps the biggest mosque in India, faces the smallest mosque in the country that lies just on the other side of the road in the same area…the Dhai Seedhi Masjid which was built in the early 18th century.