Tour of Varamin

A film by Hamid Abhari

Located about 35 miles south of central Tehran, Varamin is both the center of its own county and a suburb of the capital. This film offers a tour of some of the city’s spaces, streets, and monuments. We begin in Varamin’s bustling central square (meydan), next to which is located one of the city’s most recognizable Ilkhanid monuments, the ʿAlaoddin tower. We proceed to the congregational mosque, one of the most important Ilkhanid mosques in Iran, and drive around the large site and walk through its courtyard and domed sanctuary. We conclude by driving southeast to two small emamzadehs—the Emamzadeh Sakineh Banu and Emamzadeh ʿAli—both of which offer good comparison to the Emamzadeh Yahya. We hope that this tour provides a textured experience of Varamin and sense of its diverse sites and spaces.

Figure 1. Meydan of Varamin with the tomb tower of ʿAlaoddin in the distance. Photograph by Hamid Abhari, January 2024.
Figure 2. Emamzadeh ʿAli, Varamin. Photograph by Hamid Abhari, January 2024.

Sites in Varamin (ورامین) visited in this film

  • Meydan (square) of Varamin, میدان ورامین
  • Tomb tower of ʿAlaoddin, برج علاالدین (borj-e ʿAlaoddin): Ilkhanid, dated 688/1289
  • Congregational Mosque, مسجد جامع (masjed-e jameʿ ): Ilkhanid, elements dated 722/1322 and 726/1326; decorations completed in 845/1441; full restoration in the 1340s–70s Sh/1960s–90s
  • Emamzadeh Sakineh Banu, امامزاده سکینه بانو: probably Ilkhanid, with later additions
  • Emamzadeh ʿAli, امامزاده علی: said to be Safavid (1501–1722)
  • Emamzadeh Yahya, امامزاده یحیی: : Ilkhanid, dated elements spanning 660/1262–707/1307; Safavid-period door dated 971/1563; extensive alterations to the overall complex and tomb in the late Qajar period

Map 1. Sites in Varamin visited in this film. Google Map created by Keelan Overton, November 2024.

The Film

Watch the film on our YouTube page in high resolution.

Related pages:

Hamid Abhari Architect and Construction Project Manager, Tehran

Citation: Hamid Abhari, “Tour of Varamin.” Film in The Emamzadeh Yahya at Varamin: An Online Exhibition of an Iranian Shrine, directed and edited by Keelan Overton. 33 Arches Productions, January 15, 2025. Host: Khamseen: Islamic Art History Online.