Shabestan of Friday mosque in Tabriz. As Tabriz is not a hot climated city, the Shabestan here was not built underground.

A Shabestan or Shabistan is an underground space that can be usually found in traditional architecture of mosques, houses, and schools in ancient Persia (Iran).

These spaces were usually used during summers and could be ventilated by windcatchers and qanats.

Moreover, during the Sassanid era and subsequent Islamic periods, shabestans were also referred to inner sanctums of Shahs, where their concubines resided. Later these structures came to be called zanāneh (feminine residence), andarouni (inner private zone) and haram (from Arabic harem). ^[1]

See also

• Iranian architecture

Footnotes

v • d • e The architecture of Iran and historical Persia Elements Bazaars • The Persian Garden (hayāt) • Windcatchers • Shabestan • Kucheh • Talar • Iwan • Howz • Panjdari • Hashti • Andaruni • Biruni (persian architecture) • Dalan e Vorudi • Qanat • Kariz • Gonbad • Ab anbar • Yakhchal • Caravanserais • Robats • Burj • Khaneqah • Tekyeh • Sahn • Imamzadeh • mosques Notable traditional cities Architecture of Tehran • Kashan  • Qazvin • Yazd • Isfahan • Shiraz • Qom • Herat • Derbent • Bukhara • Samarkand • Merv • Mashad • Bam • Persepolis • Ctesiphon • Susa • Shahrisabz History and theory Traditional Persian residential architecture • Traditional water sources of Persian antiquity • Islamic architecture • Sassanid architecture • Pre-Parsi style • Parsi style • Parthian style • Khorasani style • Razi style • Azari style • Isfahani style Lists List of ab anbars of Qazvin • List of historical Iranian architects • List of mosques • Args, Castles, and Ghal'ehs • List of Ziyarat-gahs

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