Haruniyeh Dome

Haruniyeh Dome is located in Tus, 25 km far from northwest of Mashhad. Haruniyeh is one of the few remains of ancient Tus and is so close to the Abolqasim Ferdowsi tomb (the epic poet of Persian culture). It’s famous as the oldest survivor of ancient Tus. It must be a tomb or a Khanqah (a place for Sufi gatherings). This monument belongs to the 14th century. Haruniyeh is attributed to Imam Mohammad Qazzali. The main reason of this attribution is a dark stone near the building which is carved in the memory of Qazzali.

Haruniyeh dome has been built in Azeri style but the researches did not achieve any result about its function.

This monument was registered as a national heritage in 6th June 1931 but after the Islamic Revolution the monument was registered as the tomb of Qazzali.

There are many tales about the function of this building between the folks, one of them is about Harun-Al-Rashid, the Abbasid Caliph. He used the building as a prison for the opposing people. Some of them believe the dome was a fire temple. The maze of the function even makes folks to create some religious stories. Some people believe in the dome hall the 7th Shiite Imam and his disciples had been tortured. There are some narratives about playing Naqareh on the roof of the building.

On the brick front of the building, architects used a technique which is called Panjereye Koor or Kur Dar, it means the blind window or blind door. This technique beautifies the tall walls of the building and makes a kind of harmony with the hemispheric shape of the dome. The height of entrance is so long and even covers some parts of the dome, despite the backside of the building is shorter. This difference in height level makes a slight view for the visitors. The interior is the same as all the other Persian domes, a magical sunlight that is shining during a day from netted windows that are interlaced into a brick background. Nowadays, the interior is a semi-museum and there are many models of Khorasan Province’s ancient monuments in. To be near Ferdowsi tomb makes Haruniye Dome a place with suitable tourism infrastructures.