The most practical use offered by mosques is that they are a place of silence. Weary travellers may even use them to take a nap.
I took this photo on my first trip to Iran in 2008/2009. This is Jameh Mosque in Isfahan, one of the oldest and at the same time one of the largest mosques in Iran. It is an enormous complex which invites you to spend hours strolling through the column-adorned rooms or across the courtyard with its water basins.
The most comfortable mosque I ever found for taking a rest was in Syria: Umayyad Mosque in Damascus which is lavishly equipped with carpets and comfortable pillows. Unfortunately I didn’t have a camera with me back then. And who knows if the mosque will still be standing next time I will be in Syria.
The Happy Hermit 
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A beautiful photo. I wish we would respect places of worship. Those ancient places are reminders. Many had prayed/rested and worshiped. Thank you for the photo.
I am not at all religious, I am actually a hardcore atheist. But I like mosques and churches for their grandness and for the tranquillity they often offer. Recently, I was at two monasteries in Sicily and it was beautiful to walk around the cloister. Another place of worship I like is the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Rarely quiet (although I did once go after midnight when it was empty), almost always buzzing and busy, even the most non-religious person sees that it is a special place.
I took my Native American belief as my own. I study all religions and I’m glad when someone can find hope and peace in something. You are very lucky. It is good to be able to travel. I saw 40 countries in my time in the service along time ago. Good to have a camera and a open mind.
Thank you, john for respecting our place of prayer, Mosque.
You are welcome.
It’s a pity an open minded atheist as yourself bans people and our posts upon our worldviews…
Great posts, is Iran safe?
Why wouldn’t it be? Of course it is.
Do you need a visa for UK citizens ?
Yes, if you’re British you’ll need a visa.
Cool, where do you recommend visiting ?
Tehran is just a big, bustling city. That’s where you usually land, but older and more historic cities like Shiraz, Isfahan, Qom or Mashad are much more interesting. When I was in Iran, I got domestic flight tickets from the Iran Air office for very low prices.
And then there is very varied nature. Beautiful mountains!
Thanks for this, great info
The link posted by “socialinform” below will give you more than plenty of ideas where to visit. Now even I can’t wait to visit again.
As a traveler/tourist/visitor, yes absolutely safe! One of the friendliest and most hospitable countries I have been to. There still aren’t that many tourists, so people will come up to you and ask you where you are from, where you want to go, and so on, but always in a very polite way, never in a pushy way. It’s very easy to make friends in Iran, and you only need to organize accommodation for the first two nights. After that, I guarantee that you will be invited to stay at people’s homes.
It’s less safe if you are – like me – meeting with opposition figures or human rights lawyers or if you join anti-government protests or do anything that could be deemed spying.
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Eastern mosques. Art. Architecture.
Nice post, thank you. I just browsed through your posts on Iran. All are very interesting. BTW you might be interested in my NON-political blog on Iran with some surprising stories and photos:
http://theotheriran.com/tag/photos/
I hope you enjoy the posts.
Very beautiful photos that show the diversity of Iran!
I should also finally upload more of my photos from Iran…
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