SUNDIALS

ARMENIA

Sundials

Sundial is a device that tells the time of day when there is sunlight by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky.

Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, Yerevan

This device was widely used in Armenian medieval monuments and currently these monuments are considered as Astro Tourism sites.

Saint Stephen Monastery of Goght, 13th century

In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat plate (the dial) and a gnomon, which casts a shadow onto the dial. As the Sun appears to move across the sky, the shadow aligns with different hour-lines, which are marked on the dial to indicate the time of day.

Holy Saviour's Church, Gyumri, 19th century

IRAN

Sundials

Designing sundials has a long history in Iran. In an astronomical book entitled Zij-e Shahriyar ("Astronomical tables of the King"), composed in pre-Islamic Iran possibly in 555 C.E., there was a chapter on a method for graduating sundials.

Sundial in Julfa Square, Isfahan

Jameh Mosque of Qazvin is one of the oldest mosques in Iran. The oldest part of the mosque is said to have been constructed by the orders of Harun al-Rashid in 807CE. The foundation of the mosque is laid on a Zoroastrian fire temple.

Antique sundial in front of the entrance to Jameh Mosque, Qazvin

KAZAKHSTAN

Sundial, Defenders of the Fatherland Square

The Defenders of the Fatherland Square is the main war memorial in Astana. The monument is known locally as Otan Korgaushylar. It is the main monument in a park with many. The Central part of the monument is a huge stella, with a sculpture of a lady holding a bowl. The huge sundial is one of the park attractions.

Sundial, Zashhitnikov Otechestva Square