The holy city of Mashhad is one of the top pilgrimage cities in Iran. There are many historical places and houses in Mashhad. A significant part of these historical buildings, which are considered to be the sights of Mashhad, are located within the Haram; however, in recent years, this old texture has been severely damaged.The main reason for this is the construction of new towers and buildings in this area; surely, this work has destroyed a part of the historical identity of the city of Mashhad. However, some historical houses have been spared from these destructions. Among these houses, we can mention Tavakoli House of Mashhad, which is considered one of the works of Mashhad’s cultural heritage.
Tavakoli House is one of the historical buildings of Mashhad. This historical building has remained standing since the Qajar period until today. Among the outstanding features of this building, we can mention the tiling and brickwork on its facade. Brick columns and an inscription on top of it have given this house a beautiful appearance.
Numerous wooden doors, beautiful brick arches, brick columns, nested rooms and other architectural elements of the Qajar era can be seen in Mashhad Tavakoli House. This house was renovated about a decade ago. In addition to the external attractiveness of this building, an anthropological museum has been opened inside it, which introduces tourists to the life of the people during the Qajar era. This museum focuses more on the schools of that era.
In 1221 AD, a person named Ishaq Khan Qaraei built this house in the surrounding context of Motahar Razavi shrine. He designed and built it himself; however, the first owner of this house was one of the famous and prominent businessmen of Mashhad named Mr. Kashmeshian. This house was owned by Mr. Kashmishian until the first Pahlavi period. He lived in this house all his life.
After Mr. Kashmeshian, this house was bought by a person named Mr. Tavakli. Since then, this house has become famous as Tavakli House. After Mr. Tavakli left this house, this house entered the Dark Age. This house remained abandoned for many years and many homeless people moved in and out of it.
However, after a long time, Mashhad city municipality acquired the ownership of this house. This house was registered as a national heritage in 2004. Five years after that, i.e. in 2009, the restoration of Tavakoli house started and lasted for about two years. Today, Tavakli House is open to the public and it is a school museum.
Tavakoli House is more than 180 years old. Mr. Kashmeshian can be considered the first owner of this historical building. He was one of the dry fruit traders of that time. After him, the ownership of the house had reached a person named Tavakli. Tavakli also lived in this house for some time. After Tavakoli, this house was given to Mashhad Municipality.
Tavakoli House of Mashhad is mostly known for its very beautiful and exquisite tiling and brickwork on the exterior and interior of the building. Other architectural features of this house include brick columns, the interior of the building, and a beautiful inscription on top of it. Lattice and wooden windows with colored glass have doubled the beauty of this historical house. There are two tile inscriptions at the entrance of the building. Verses from the Quran are written on these two inscriptions.
Among other beautiful features of Tavakoli house, we can mention a beautiful pond inside its yard and also the existence of wooden rooms inside it. The frame of this house is made of wood. This two-story house has brick columns in its facade and porch. The interior of the building is also separated from each other by curtains. The architecture of this building is considered one of the outstanding architectures of the Qajar era and has been the focus of domestic and foreign engineers.
The entrance door of Tavakoli house has a relatively simple architecture. After entering it, a large courtyard with a water pond in the center is visible. There is a two-story building in front of this yard. The first point about this building is their order using columns and capitals. In the interior of the house, prominent decorations can be seen. On the ground floor of the Tavakli house, there is a kitchen, rooms suitable for winter and a corridor.
You can access the first floor of the house by using the stairs on both sides of the building. The design of the plan of this house has been done in accordance with the hierarchy. There are two living rooms on this floor. Between these two rooms, there is a large room in the middle; This large room has large wooden windows that open to the courtyard and let in a lot of light. These large windows provide a wide view from inside to the courtyard.
After taking over the ownership of Tavakoli’s historical house, Mashhad Municipality put the reconstruction and restoration plans of this historical building on its agenda. The restoration of Tavakoli House has started. Various parts of this historical monument were destroyed and other parts of it were also cracked. Some measures were also necessary to prevent injury in the future. After about two years, the restoration of Tavakoli’s historical house was completed
Shrine of Imam Reza (AS)
Tavakoli house of Mashhad is located in one of the most historical areas of Mashhad city. Although this area has undergone many changes in recent years; But still, some of its parts have an interesting historical feeling. The house of Tavakoli is located not far from the Holy Shrine of Razavi; Tourists can go on foot or by public transportation from the shrine of Imam Reza (AS) to Tavakoli House.
Historical house of Darogh
In addition, Tavakoli House is not the only historical house in this area; at a close distance from Tavakoli house, there is a historical Darogheh house. This house is also considered as one of the historical and important houses of Mashhad, which should not be missed. Among other places of interest around Mashhad’s Tavakoli House, we can mention the Ash Dome, Naderi Museum and Mashhad’s Old Mosque.
