Madrasah-i Hajj Hasan

Isfahan, Iran

The madrasa known as Hajj Hasan adjoins the Masjid-i Ali immediately to its northwest and lies across a narrow lane from the Harun-i Vilayat Shrine Complex. One enters the building through a portal on its northwestern side, which leads to a vestibule that in turn opens onto the building's central courtyard. The courtyard is octagonal, with four long sides aligned on the axis of the qibla (southwest - northeast) and four short sides forming corner angles. The facade is two stories high and each of the long sides has a large central iwan flanked on either side by galleries. On the qibla side (southwest), the central iwan rises two stories high while the side galleries are one story high. On the sides perpendicular to the qibla (southeast and northwest), the central iwans rise only one story, the second story being occupied by a gallery with a geometric vault.

Based on the floorplan, scholars have dated this monument to the Safavid period, probably later than the adjoining Masjid-i Ali.

Sources:

Heinz Gaube and Eugin Wirth. Der Bazar von Isfahan. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert, 1978. Cat. No. 284, p. 228-9.