On my journey through Iran I also passed through
Ardabil (اردبیل). One can
visit the tomb and other buildings in connection with Sheikh Safi ad-Din Is’haq
Ardabili (شیخ صفیالدین اسحاق اردبیلی), who had
lived from 1252–1334 and has been Kurdish and a Sunni, who founded the Safavid
dynasty. He also has been a Sufi. He inherited the Sufi order Zahediyeh of his
father-in-law Sheikh Zahed Gilani (proper name: Taj Al-Din Ebrahim ibn Rushan
Amir Al-Kurdi Al-Sanjani [تاج الدين ابراهيم كردی سنجانی], Sheikh
Zahed [شیج زاهد] is a
honorific title, zahed is Arabic and means ascetic), which
Sheikh Safi ad-Din later transformed into his own Sufi order, named Safaviyya.
Ardabil has a harsh climate, record low -33.8° C and
record high 39.8° C; I had been there during October whith about 25° C, two
days later it had been snowing. An earthquake in 1997 killed at least 965
people in the Ardabil area.
The Mausoleum was first built by the son of Sheikh
Safi ad-Din after his death in 1334. There have been lots of reconstruction and
added construction works between the 16th and 18th century. The mausoleum is a
tower decorated with blue tile, note the Kufi script. The complex has many
sections that have served as mosque, school, library, and more.
In 2010, Sheikh Safi al-Din Khānegāh and Shrine
Ensemble (مجموعه آرامگاه و خانقاه شیخ صفی
الدین) was registered on the UNESCO
World Heritage List.
View from about 100° to the left of the first picture
Front with entrance
Details on the opposite wall
Interior
A sculptured stone reading
ya hanan, ya manan (يا حنان يا منان),
which
means
O merciful, o generous
Calligraphies and Chinaware, 17th century
Double Happiness 囍 is read 双喜 (shuang xi)
as it is composed of 喜喜, which stands
for happiness in
marriage –
it is one the few polysyllabic Chinese characters
Calligraphy above an entrance inside the building
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