Yazd Vaght o Saat Complex

Vaght o Saat Complex in Yazd is located in the historic city of Yazd on Masjed-e Jame Street. This complex includes Hosseiniyeh, Vaght o Saat Square, a Qajari Nakhl in the middle, the mausoleum of Sayyed Roknaddin, the old mudbrick Sabats (a room built over the alley) and an old ab anbar. In the past, Vaght-o- Saat Complex also included an observatory which was destroyed and nothing remained of it. There are a large number of historical attractions just around the square such as old houses, mosques, ab anbars, etc.
Vaght o Saat neighborhood used to be mostly inhabited by Jewish who were engaged in weaving jobs (some fabrics, cloth, Termeh); however, today a few Jewish live in the neighborhood and there is only one active knitting shop called Khojaste in a corner of this square.
The architectural style of Vaght o Saat Square is very valuable and one of the most significant works of Yazd which was registered on March 26, 1999 with the registration number 2656 as one of the national Iranian Monuments.

The Reason for giving the title 

Sayyed Roknaddin Muhammad, who was interested in science and culture and was later appointed as Qazi Al-Qozat of Yazd (Judge of the judges).
He founded this complex in 725 AH which included some mosques, houses, water reservoirs and so on. There was also a good observatory in the center of the square. So because of the location of a clock tower (saat) in the neighborhood as well as the astronomical observatory built by Sayyed Roknaddin in the eighth century AH, this neighborhood and square was named and known as Vaght o Saat.

Sayyed Roknadin Mausoleum

Sayyed Roknadin Mausoleum is the burial place of Sayyed Roknaddin Muhammad, who died in 732 and was buried under the dome of his school. Thus, this monument was named after him.
Sayyed Roknaddin Mausoleum a square-shaped building with one entrance door. On top of this tomb, there is a dome with two continuous shells and several well-lights installed on a long cylinder. The outer surface of the mosque is covered with green tiles and the dome is considered as the widest dome in Iran.
The façade of Sayyed Roknaddin Mausoleum contains a gypsum inscription bearing Kufic lines dating back to 725 AD. AH.

The Mihrab of Sayyed Roknaddin Mausoleum

The paintings on the walls are green, blue, brown, and golden with almost plain stuccos and knobby muqarnas works. The beauty and abundance of decorations in the monument is so high that it has affected the architecture of the building.
This Mihrab has a broad border with 3 inscriptions, one emblazoned with the Ensan surah in thuluth line, the other one is decorated with Qur'anic verses in Kufic lines.
Other aesthetics of this Mihrab include some calligraphic writing of the verses of Quran or some other religious Quotes which are so interesting and meaningful for Persian and Muslim viewers. 

Rokniyeh school

Rokniyeh School is a part of Vaght o Saat Complex and it is one of the largest schools in Yazd that is known as Mother of the Yazd Schools for its significance and mastery and it is believed that no school like this can be found in any country.

Vaght o Saat Ab Anbar

Vaght-o- Saat Ab Anbar was built at the end of the Safavid era and is located on Digbandan Alley in the Vaqt o Saat Square. This water reservoir was built in 1121 AH by Khajeh Shah Amir Astarabadi and has 49 stairs with 4 badgirs over its tank. The ab anbar was registered in 1975 with the registration number 1611 in the list of National Iranian Monuments.

Observatory of Vaght o Saat

Observatory of Vaght o Saat was built in 725 AH. just the opposite of entrance of the Rokniyeh School with 2 minarets on the sides of the porch, which are now completely destroyed. On one of these minarets, there was a copper bird rotating toward the direction of sunlight, like a sunflower. Another minaret had a flag which was raised when it was prayer time.

Clock Tower of Vaght o Saat

World Heritage City of Yazd has 3 clock towers, including Vaght o Saat Clock Tower, Masjed-e Jameh Clock Tower, and Markar Clock Tower.
The clock installed in Vaght o Saat Square was the first urban clock in Iran and one of the oldest clocks in the world. It was built in 725 AH by a person named Abu Bakr, one of the skillful Yazdi clock makers. Vaght-o Saat Clock Tower used to be located at Rokniye School near Masjed-e Jameh in Yazd. Over time, the clock tower was ruined and today is replaced by a platform on which there is a Nakhl dating back to Qajar era.

Clock Tower of Masjed-e Jameh

The Clock Tower of Masjed-e Jameh is a lofty rectangular cube with brick decorations and blue tiles, arches, geometric shapes, etc. which are well-visible. In the highest part of this tower, a very large clock was installed, the reason for which this clock tower was constructed, is the attention and concern of Iranians to time and punctuality.

Markar Clock Tower of Yazd

Markar Clock Tower in Yazd, known as Ferdowsi Timeline, started to function on November 4, 1942, in Markar Square in Yazd. The interesting point about this clock tower is that since Yazd is geographically located in the center of Iran and Markar Tower is in the center of Yazd, thus Markar Tower of Yazd is located just in the middle of Iran.
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