The Stone Tark Mosque (Arabic: مسجد صخر ترك; Persian: مسجد سنگی ترک), also known as the Sangi Mosque, is a Shi'itemosque, located in Tark, in the province of East Azerbaijan, Iran. The mosque was built during the Ilkhanate;[3][1][4] and has been restored many times since, due to the impact of earthquakes.[2]
The sanctuary of the mosque has been carved from a monolithic stone and it has spectacular engravings. The period of the completion of the mosque is not known. The mosque is reputed to have been constructed in either the 7th or 8th centuries CE; or in the 13th or 14th centuries. There are numerous inscriptions and carvings in Nasta’liq script, from 1016 AH(1607/1608CE), most likely when the mosque was renovated.[2] The Tark Stone Mosque is one of the few stone mosques in Iran.[5] Its seraglios have been completed with bricks. The tomb of the mosque's founder, believed to be Khwaja Kavus Tarki,[2] is located in southwest of the mosque.[1]
The mosque was reconstructed in 1865, after two earthquakes. The mosque features a brick nave, adorned with pillars and a stone sanctuary. Large stones carved with plant, geometric, and calligraphy motifs adorn the nave's inner and outer walls.[5] The mosque's minaret and upper floor was destroyed by the 1879 Bozqush earthquake.[2]
