Ardestān

Ardestan lies between Kashan and Na'in, near the edge of the Dasht-e Kavir. In the Middle Ages its walls enclosed a prosperous town known for pomegranates, silk production and weaving. Water was precious in the surrounding villages, and irrigation sustained gardens in this dry country. A sixteenth-century traveller estimated the town at some five hundred houses.

The Friday mosque preserves traces of several periods. Its earlier arcaded sanctuary was extensively rebuilt under the Seljuks around 1158–1160, when the mosque acquired its domed chamber and four-iwan plan. Brickwork, inscriptions and elaborate stucco adorn the sanctuary. Around 1539–1540, under the Safavids, the mosque was enlarged again and received a madrasa, showing how the old religious centre continued to change.