Stone Tark Mosque

{{Short description|Mosque in Tark, East Azerbaijan, Iran}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox religious building | name = Stone Tark Mosque | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = مسجد(سنگی(جامع ترک.jpg | image_upright = 1.4 | alt = | caption = The mosque interior, in 2015 | religious_affiliation = Shia Islam | tradition = | sect = | district = | prefecture = | province = | region = | deity = | rite = | festival =  | organisational_status = Mosque | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = | bhattaraka = | patron = | consecration_year = | functional_status = Active | religious_features_label = | religious_features = | location = Tark, East Azerbaijan | locale = | municipality = | cercle = | state = | country = Iran | map_type = Iran | map_size = 250 | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location of the mosque in Iran | grid_name = | grid_position = | sector = | territory = | administration = | coordinates = {{coord|37.61581425212978|47.773360916044645|region:IR_type:landmark|format=dms|display=it}} | coordinates_footnotes = | heritage_designation = | architect = | architecture_type = {{nowrap|Mosque architecture}} | architecture_style = Ilkhanate | founded_by = Khwaja Kavus Tarki | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = | established = | groundbreaking = | year_completed = {{ubl|Ilkhanate;|{{AH|1016|link=yes}} {{small|(reconstruction)}};|1865 {{small|(reconstruction)}};|1803 {{small|(reconstruction)}};|1984 {{small|(reconstruction)}}}} | construction_cost = | date_demolished =  | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | interior_area = | height_max = | dome_quantity = 13 | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = One {{small|(destroyed by 1879 earthquake)}} | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = | inscriptions = | materials = Stone; bricks | elevation_m =  | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | delisted1_date = | website = | module = {{Infobox historic site | embed = yes | designation1 = INHL | designation1_offname = Tark Mosque | designation1_type = Built | designation1_date = 19 August 1969 | designation1_number = 868 | designation1_free1name = Conservation organization | designation1_free1value = Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran }} | footnotes = <ref name=ITTO/><ref name=icro/> }}

The '''Stone Tark Mosque''' ({{langx|ar|مسجد صخر ترك}}; {{langx|fa|مسجد سنگی ترک}}), also known as the '''Sangi Mosque''', is a Shi'ite mosque, located in Tark, in the province of East Azerbaijan, Iran. The mosque was built during the Ilkhanate;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://iranshahrpedia.ir/docs/Asar-e%20Sabti%20(Up%20to%2026666)%20(Version%2090%2008%2029).zip |title=Encyclopaedia of the Iranian Architectural History |date=19 May 2011 |publisher=Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406043613/http://iranshahrpedia.ir/docs/Asar-e%20Sabti%20(Up%20to%2026666)%20(Version%2090%2008%2029).zip |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 April 2015}}</ref><ref name=ITTO>{{cite web|url=https://www.itto.org/iran/attraction/Stone-Mosque-of-Tark/ |title=Stone Mosque of Tark (Sangi Mosque) |work=Iran Tourism and Touring Organization |date=2025 |access-date=31 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.tripyar.com/iran/east-azerbaijan/mianeh/attractions/ancient-and-historical/historical/stone-mosque-of-tark.html |title=Stone Mosque of Tark |work=en.tripyar.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730234336/https://en.tripyar.com/iran/east-azerbaijan/mianeh/attractions/ancient-and-historical/historical/stone-mosque-of-tark.html |archive-date=2019-07-30 |url-status=dead |access-date=31 July 2019}}</ref> and has been restored many times since, due to the impact of earthquakes.<ref name=icro/>

The mosque was added to the Iran National Heritage List on 19 August 1969, administered by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran.

== Overview == The sanctuary of the mosque has been carved from a monolithic stone and it has spectacular engravings. The period of the completion of the mosque is not known. The mosque is reputed to have been constructed in either the 7th or 8th centuries CE; or in the 13th or 14th centuries. There are numerous inscriptions and carvings in ''Nasta’liq'' script, from {{AH|1016|link=yes}}, most likely when the mosque was renovated.<ref name=icro>{{cite web |url=https://en.icro.ir/Tourist-attractions-and-places/Stone-Mosque-of-Tark |title=Stone Mosque of Tark |work=Islamic Culture And Communication Organization |date=n.d. |access-date=14 March 2025 }}</ref> The Tark Stone Mosque is one of the few stone mosques in Iran.<ref name=journal>{{cite journal |url=https://rac.soore.ac.ir/article_720774.html?lang=en |title=A Study of the Stonework of Tark Stone Mosque (Sangi Mosque) in Middle East Azerbaijan Region-Miyaneh |author=Fazel, Atefe |journal=Industrial Arts |date=June 2024 |publisher=Soore University |location= |issn= |doi=10.22034/RAC.2024.720774 |access-date=14 March 2025 |format=Abstract |pages=63–77 |volume=4 |issue=1 }}</ref> Its seraglios have been completed with bricks. The tomb of the mosque's founder, believed to be Khwaja Kavus Tarki,<ref name=icro/> is located in southwest of the mosque.<ref name=ITTO/>

The mosque was reconstructed in 1865, after two earthquakes. The mosque features a brick nave, adorned with pillars and a stone sanctuary. Large stones carved with plant, geometric, and calligraphy motifs adorn the nave's inner and outer walls.<ref name=journal/> The mosque's minaret and upper floor was destroyed by the 1879 Bozqush earthquake.<ref name=icro/>

== See also == {{stack|{{portal|Shia Islam|Iran}}}} * Shia Islam in Iran * List of mosques in Iran

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:14th-century mosques in Iran Category:Mosques on the Iran National Heritage List Category:Ilkhanid architecture Category:Mosque buildings with domes in Iran Category:Mosque buildings with minarets in Iran Category:Mosques in East Azerbaijan province Category:Shia mosques in Iran