Madrassa of Mahmud Gawan
Madrassa of Mahmud Gawan
- Built in A.D. 1472 by Mahmud Gawan, a Persian scholar and minister of Mohammed Shah II.
- It was an Islamic college having lecture halls, library, mosque and ample accommodation for both students and professors, built in the same architectural style as that of Persian university buildings.
- The building covered a rectangle 205' X 180', with a quadrangle in the centre onto which opened the halls and chambers which surrounded it on all sides.
- Externally, three of the sides have prominent octagonal projections in the middle which are covered by a 'Tartar' dome. The fourth side contains the entrance and has two tall minars in three stages, one in each corner.
- The entire elevation is in three storeys of arched openings surmounted by a wide parapet.
- In true Persian fashion, the building depends mainly upon surface treatment for its effects and the walls are specially prepared for it.
- Most of the surface treatment is composed of colour produced by glazed tiles. Schemes in white, green and yellow showing floral patterns and arabesques. A great emphasis is placed on decorative inscriptions, such as the lettering on the parapet done by expert calligraphers which is over 3' high.
- The foundations of the building show that sheets of lead were interposed between courses of masonry to prevent damp from injuring the tiled surfaces.