Darab stone mosque
Darab stone mosque (masjid sangi) is one of the most beautiful rock temples. This temple or mosque is also called Azarakhsh stone mosque.
This mosque is located about five kilometers southeast of Darab city in Fars province. This mosque is the only religious building in Iran that has had religious uses in 3 periods of Mehrism, Zoroastrianism and Islam. The 2600-year-old stone mosque of Darab is located 6 km from Darab city and on the southern slope of Pahna Mountain in the heart of the mountain rock. This mosque was originally a temple of Aryan Mehr worshipers, and then became a fire temple during the Sassanid period and became known as Azarakhsh fire temple. It can be boldly said that the example of this building can’t be seen anywhere in the world.
Architecture and the plan of Darab stone mosque
Architecture and the plan of Darab stone mosque has a very amazing cruciform structure. The plan of this mosque is in the shape of a cross. The mosque is a cross-shaped area that has two halls perpendicular to each other and around it there is a portico with piers, columns and arched openings. On the four sides of the main halls are stone corridors that are the same shape and it seems that at that time these corridors were used for religious ceremonies of priests. There is a porch at the entrance of the building. Next to the mosque, there is a room that has an arched roof and enters the floor with 3 steps. This room is 8 meters long, 3 meters wide and about 2 meters high. Part of the roof of this building is open and below it there is a shallow pool to hold the sacred fire, around which corridors with a short circular roof can be seen. The exterior of the stone building is more like Sassanid buildings and does not resemble Islamic buildings. However, the existence of the Mogharnas altar with Kufic script, especially the cutting of the corridors on both sides of the altar and its location on the Qibla and the Kufic inscriptions, are the reasons why the building is Islamic. It is said that in 1254, an altar was added to this fire place and since then, this structure has become a mosque. There are two inscriptions in the building, one after entering the place above the entrance door of the building and the other around the altar and both are taken from Quranic verses.
Darab fire temple of stone mosque
Darab fire temple of stone mosque, which is called Azarakhsh fire temple, is located 150 meters northeast of this stone mill with two ovens. Stone water streams, stone wells and stone pools can be seen around this fire temple. Scholars believe that this building was originally a temple of Aryan mehrists and in the Sassanid era it became a fire temple and was named Azarakhsh. This mosque was turned into a mosque during Atabakan period. Azarakhsh Fire Temple is also mentioned in some sources as Dokhtar Palace and Caravanserai. Darab Stone Temple and Mosque has been registered as a national monument under No. 229.
