Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
MAUSOLEUM
Oljeitu Mausoleum
(Gonbad-e Soltaniyeh; admission US$1; 8am-5pm) By far the most dramatic of the
three monuments is the magnificent mausoleum built for this Mongol sultan, now a Un-
esco World Heritage site. Almost 25m in diameter and 48m high it's the world's tallest
brick dome. Inside, renovators' scaffolding can't hide the enormity of the enclosed space.
A ground-floor exhibition illustrates the ongoing restoration process. Spiral stairs within
the hugely thick walls lead up two floors to a terrace with panoramic views and fine
stucco-work vaulting.
The building is named for its sponsor, Oljeitu Khodabandeh. Oljeitu changed religions
as often as a film star changes spouses. During his Shiite phase, egged on by a favourite
concubine, he had planned for the mausoleum to re-house the remains of Imam Ali, son-
in-law of the Prophet Mohammed. That would have made it Shiite Islam's holiest pilgrim-
age site outside Mecca (instead of Najaf, Iraq). However, Oljeitu couldn't persuade the
Najaf ulema to give him Ali's relics and eventually he was buried here himself in 1317.
Other Buildings
The mausoleum approach crosses partly rebuilt stubs of Soltaniyeh's citadel wall and
some archaeological excavations (admission free) of the Mongol-era townscape.
Some 500m southwest of the main complex, the 1330 Khanegah Dervish Monastery
(Hamadan Hwy; admission free; 8am-5pm) has restored cells around a courtyard lead-
ing to the Boq'eh Chelabi-oglu Mausoleum behind the mihrab of a shattered-sided
former mosque.
From the Oljeitu Mausoleum's upper terrace, it's easy to spot the lonely blue-domed
Mullah Hasan Kashi tomb (admission free) in semi-desert, 1.5km south towards the
mountain skyline. It was built by Safavid Shah Tahmasp to honour Hasan Kashi, a 14th-
century mystic whose recasting of Islam's historical sagas as Persian-language poetic
epics unwittingly had a vast influence over Shia Islam's future direction.
HISTORIC BUILDINGS
Getting There & Away
Soltaniyeh is 5km south of the old Zanjan-Qazvin road, but not accessible from the paral-
lel motorway. By public transport it's easiest to visit as a day trip from Zanjan. Direct sav-
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