Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/573

Rh Bk. I. Ch. V, PERSIA. 557 The dimensions of the great mosque, or Mesjid Shah, maybe judged of from the preceding plan. As will be perceived, the Maidan not facing Mecca, a bend is made in the entrance, Avhich, however, is far from being unfavorable to the general picturesque effect of the group. The mosque itself is a rectangular building, the internal dimensions of which are 223 ft. by 130, the centre compartment being surmounted by a dome 75 ft. in diameter and 110 ft. high internally; but being double, like most domes of this age, its external height is 165 ft., which is also the height of the minarets attached to the mosque. On three sides the mosque is suri-ounded by courtyards, richly ornamented, 991. Madrissa of Sultan Husein at Ispahan. (From Flandin and Coste's " Voyage en Perse.") and containing fountains and basins of water for the j^rescribed ablu- tions of the faithful. The principal court measures 225 ft. by 170, and surrounded as it is on all sides by fayades in the richest style of Persian polychromatic decoration, the brilliancy of the architectural effect is almost unrivalled by any other example of its class. Both in architectural forms and in the style of ornament this mosque is inferior to those at Tabreez and Sultanieh ; but for mass and amount of decoration it is among the most magnificent specimens of its class. Taken altogether, the Maidan Shah, and its accompanying mosques and gates — the whole the work of one king and on one design — present a scene of gorgeous, though it may be somewliat