Distinctively Shiite, Hosseiniehs are shrines where plays are acted out during the Islamic month of Moharram, commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hossein at Karbala (AD 680). The finest of these theatres cum religious buildings, is the Takieh Mo’aven ol-Molk.
Enter down stairs, through a courtyard and domed central chamber decorated with grizzly scenes from the Karbala battle. The shrine remains very much active, with pilgrims kissing the doors and being genuinely moved by the footprint of Ali on the wall of the second courtyard. This is set amid tiles depicting a wacky gamut of images from Quranic scenes, to pre-Islamic motifs including Shahnameh kings, European villages and local notables in 19th-century costumes. A lovely building to the right is now an Ethnographic Museum displaying regional costumes.
