Built by Shah Abbas I the Great at the begin­ning of the 17th cen­tu­ry, and bor­dered on all sides by mon­u­men­tal build­ings linked by a series of two-storeyed arcades, the site is known for the Roy­al Mosque, the Mosque of Sheykh Lot­fol­lah, the mag­nif­i­cent Por­ti­co of Qaysariyyeh and the 15th-cen­­tu­ry Timurid palace. They are an impres­sive tes­ti­mo­ny to the lev­el of social and cul­tur­al life in Per­sia dur­ing the Safavid era.