TEHRAN – The second phase of a new restoration project has been completed on Zanjan’s Chehel Sotoun Mosque, provincial tourism chief has said.

Columns, walls, ceiling insulation materials, arches, gutters, worn-out materials, and lightening roofs were amongst parts amended in this phase, Amir Arjmand explained.

The Qajar-era (1789–1925) mosque is located in the historic bazaar of Zanjan. It is the second most prestigious seminary school in Zanjan after Jameh Mosque. The main prayer hall of the mosque is built in Chehel Sotoun (forty columns) style, which is mostly compared to the 17th-century Chehel Sotoun palace in Isfahan.

Zanjan is one of the cities founded by Sassanid King Ardashir I (180-242 CE). The province makes a base for wider explorations with the architectural wonder of Soltaniyeh, the subterranean delights of the Katale-Khor caves, colorful mountains, and the UNESCO-registered Takht-e Soleiman ruins are nearby.

AFM/