These photos show the muqarnas under the muezzins balcony of the Orphan Minaret at the Kazimayn shrine before and after destruction by the contractor Setadi Baz Sazi Atabat, (Organization for Reconstruction of Holy Shrines).
The Orphan minaret is the oldest and most important minaret found at any Shi’ite shrine in both Iran and Iraq- this is because of its immense history, being commissioned by Shah Ismail himself in the year 1500’s following his conquest of Baghdad from the Ottomans in 1508 AD. It is called the Orphan minaret as it was the only minaret of the Shrine from the time of its initial construction until 200 years later when three additional ones were built in same style in the year 1792 AD under Ottoman patronage. It is also known as the Orphan minaret as architecturally it differs from the later built three minarets in several ways, most notably it has two rows of muqarnas under the muezzins deck while the other three minarets have three rows.
Stylistically the Orphan Minaret’s importance can’t be understated- it set a precedent for how Persianate architecture would infuse with local Iraqi architecture for the centuries to come. As it was built in the early half of the 15th century, early Safavid architecture inherited the stye of the fallen Timurid dynasty and the minaret essentially is a mixture of an Abbasid form with Timurid style ornamentation with its glazed bricks set into spiraling epigraphy kufic script on the minarets shaft, its Persianate muqarnas, and its ribbed Timurid style dome that sits atop the minaret. The minaret remained virtually unchanged for 350 years until in the 1880’s the Safavid woodwork from the muezzins balcony, and the tiles on the upper shaft of the minaret were replaced with gold under orders and funding from Nasser Din Shah. After this work, the minaret remained untouched until 2019, when the Iranian based Organization for Reconstruction of the Holy Shrines got their hands on this minaret and brought ruination upon it.
The minaret over the course of centuries had developed a slight tilt, which is not unusual for a 500 year old tower of this height, whether it was in structural peril or not is unknown and no objective study was ever publicly released on its situation. Setad previously had regilded the tops of the later built three minarets in 2016 but did not regild the orphan minaret due to concerns of erecting heavy scaffolding around the Orphan minaret and possible risk of collapse. The replacement and regilding of the 1880’s gilded plates was itself an improper action and damaged the integrity of the other three minarets, there was hope that due to the time these structural concerns created a case for the preservation of the Orphan Minaret could be made. I along with various other preservationist enthusiasts from Iraq attempted to make a case for the preservation of the Orphan Minaret. In the Summer of 2018 I personally met with the chairman and technical directors of Setad, Mr. Hassan Polark and Mr. Khoshrou and made a case for the preservation of the minaret, provided them documentation on its historic value, and pleaded to them to reconsider this project. My meeting lasted over 2 hours and unfortunately fell on deaf ears, with them at the end essentially admitting that even if it was wrong “if they didn’t do it somebody else would do it”.
Several months later in Autumn of 2018 a specially design heavy scaffolding was erected around the Orphan Minaret, this type of scaffolding was very heavy and did not sit on the shrines roof but was mounted to the ground. In order to do this severe damages were inflicted onto the historic shrine building- various gaping holes were drilled through the domes and tarmeh (portico) of the shrine for the scaffoldings columns to go through. Other damages included full removal and destruction of antique Qajar tiles that were located on the shrine walls at the base of the minaret. In order to supposedly stabilize the foundation of the minaret, concrete piles were injected around its foundations. By 2019 photos released by the shrine administration showed the historic Qajar era gold plates removed from the upper shaft and ribbed dome of the minaret- at this point though it seemed that the minarets original structural integrity seemed intact.
In April of 2020 photos released of the Orphan Minaret’s status showed a drastic turn for the worse, as seen behind the heavy scaffolding erected around the minaret, the entire upper shaft of the minaret was gone- completely destroyed in other words. To say this was a tragedy for the heritage of Baghdad, and the entire world of Persianate architecture is no understatement as this meant the original 500 year old Safavid bricks and ribbed dome were demolished. The status of the minarets antique muqarnas though remained unknown and I remained hopeful that they had been perhaps been preserved and that Setad would certainly at least reconstruct the upper shaft of the minaret from traditional masonry construction as it originally was built.
Unfortunately the answer to these two hopes was negative- in late January of 2022 the upper scaffolding around the minaret was removed and a horrifying sight was revealed. The previously sand colored masonry built upper shaft of the minaret was now rebuilt but was an awkward white color- as I observed in new photos it was rebuilt from concrete with rebars sticking out from the top of the shaft. To build upon a historic delicate masonry structure with such a modern and heavy material as concrete and iron rebar is a gross violation of the minarets structural integrity and architectural authenticity. It should be reminded that while other nations treasure their architectural heritage and even if disaster hits them- they put utmost priority and funds to restore them according to their traditional design and crafts (such as efforts to rebuild the roof of Notre Dame cathedral according to its original heavy timber construction), sadly though the exact opposite had occurred to this precious 500 year old minaret. Instead of using the locally produced traditional bricks and the ancient crafts of masonry, modern industrial concrete was used. The worst tragedy though was to see the historic tiles used for the muqarnas under the muezzins balcony no longer there- how beautiful they had been with their combination of original 7-color Safavid tiles with their blue and yellow hues and Qajar tiles with their elegant floral designs and rose hued colors- all of which were mixed together in a playful and unique formations. In their place new uniform tiles with jarring colors that resemble no period of Persian architecture now exist. One can only wonder what happened to those antique tiles, and how senseless and destructive Setadi Baz Sazi Atabat has dealt with these delicate antique architectural masterpieces. As the minarets reconstruction continues I cannot help but grieve at the loss of precious heritage that has affected the oldest minaret of any Shi’ite Shrine and reflect at the severity of damage a single organization has inflicted upon these precious historic and sacred sites. I can say with full confidence that Setadi Baz Sazi Atabat has dealt more damage to the architectural heritage of the holy shrines in Iraq during the past 15 years than Wahabi terrorists have done in the last 200 years.