According to the news agency Online news According to Asr Iran – Hassan Zahouri: The blue clock of Hemet Mosque in Tajrish Square has become one of the subjects of interest among social media users these days. A different watch that works without using electricity or batteries and only with water flow. Despite the searches, there is still no detailed information about the manufacturer of this watch.
The mechanism of this watch is designed based on the change of water level in transparent tubes. With the movement of water in these pipes, the time is displayed, and for more accuracy, sections are dedicated to the seconds counter and minute counter. In the meantime, regulating the flow of water is very important; Because the smallest change in the amount of current can affect the accuracy of the watch. For this reason, calibrating this structure requires special precision and finesse.
Of course, blue hour is not a new phenomenon in Iran. What we see today in Hemet Tajrish Mosque is a modern example of a technology that has been used in Iran for centuries.
One of the old examples of this technology is a small copper container called “pangan” that was placed in water and used to distribute water in the aqueduct. This container measured time with a simple mechanism and based on the time required to fill and sink into the water. In this way, each person’s share of water was determined accurately; The method that was very important in the traditional water distribution system.
There are other examples of water time structures in Iran. One of them is a structure in the city of Harsin, Kermanshah, which dates back to the Sassanid period. Although there is still disagreement about the exact use of this structure, it is known as the blue clock among the residents of the region.
Of course, the use of blue watches is not limited to Iran. In ancient Egypt, around 1400 BC, these tools were used to measure time. The Greeks, Romans and Chinese also used blue clocks in different historical periods to measure time and regulate daily affairs. In this way, the blue clock is one of the oldest human tools for measuring and managing time.
But the Hammet mosque clock belongs to a different family of blue clocks; Modern examples of which Bernard Guyton, the designer and manufacturer of blue watches, is one of the most famous figures known in this field.
One of Guyton’s most famous works is the clock installed in the European Trade Center in Berlin, known as the “Current Time Clock”. This structure displays the passage of time in a different way with a set of glass spheres and colored liquid.
Gayton made another example of these clocks called “Big Blue Clock” in the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, USA; A structure that is about 8 meters high and is considered a remarkable work in terms of dimensions and technical complexity.
The clock installed in Hemet Tajrish Mosque also has similarities to the works of Bernard Guyton in terms of appearance and mechanism. However, its design is simpler and has differences with the famous examples of this designer. These similarities have made this watch a reminder of his famous structures for those familiar with Guyton’s works. Of course, it is not yet clear whether the clock designer of the Hemet mosque modeled on Guiton’s works or whether this similarity is the result of using a common idea.
The Berlin clock was made in 1982; That is about 44 years ago. On the other hand, the clock of the Hemet mosque has apparently been installed in this place for the past few years, and its pictures and news have been circulating on social networks for about a year or two.
The interesting point here is that the blue clock is installed in a building that is more than a century old. Hemat Mosque is one of the old buildings of Tajrish neighborhood and its formation dates back to the Qajar period.
The first foundation stone of this mosque was laid by a pious man named Ibrahim Charkhi. A man whose job was to sharpen knives. He had erected a mat canopy near Imamzadeh Saleh’s shrine and prayed there. Gradually, a wall and a roof were added to this canopy, and this small prayer hall formed the first building of Hemet Mosque.
Around the year 1300 AD, the local people developed this prayer hall and turned it into a mosque. The name of Hemat Mosque is also derived from this effort and cooperation of the residents of the neighborhood.
In 1320, the building that is known as Hammet Mosque was not yet a mosque with this name. In its current location, there was a small mosque called Amin al-Doulah, which was about 150 square meters in size. In Shahrivar of the same year, with the participation of the people and the follow-up of a preacher named Sheikh Ali Akbar Turk, the mosque was rebuilt and a gable roof was built for it. Since then, the name of Hemet mosque has remained on this building.
This mosque was developed again in 1374 and became the present day. Its current infrastructure is about 2 thousand square meters.
Now, next to the history of this mosque, which is over a hundred years old, there is a clock that works with water power and is a reminder of one of the oldest methods of measuring time in human history. The manufacturer of this watch is still unknown and it is not possible to make a definite statement about its direct connection with the works of Bernard Guyton. However, the blue clock of Hemet Mosque, despite its simplicity compared to the world famous examples, has become a different attraction in one of the historical buildings of Tajrish; An attraction that shows that electricity and complex technologies are not always needed to measure time.
Video of this report here see
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