I'm going to show you something like you've never seen before.
— Our guide, just before entering the Shāh Chérāgh Mosque.
The Shāh-é-Chérāgh Mosque. It's a mausoleum, a funerary, one of the many places of worship and pilgrimage in Iran. But this one looks like a giant disco ball turned inside out.
It's fitting that this site is one grand play on light. After all, it was originally discovered by an ayatollah after investigating a light he'd seen from a distance — a light that turned out to be emanating from a graveyard which upon excavation contained an armor-wrapped body wearing a ring that read “The Pride belongs to God, Ahmad son of Musa.”
Thus, the site has been known as Tomb of Ahmad and Muhammad, sons of Mūsā al-Kādhim. The tomb chamber, dome and colonnades date back to the 1130s, after which the complex had been continually expanded upon and repaired after various earthquakes. So you could say there are layers of history to the site, which today remains one of the most important places of pilgrimage within Shiraz, one of Iran's most famous tourist draw towns.
But we just happen to like it because it looks truly amazing.
