Sheykh Baha'i, the architect of Isfahan

In Iran, Architecture Day is celebrated every year on April 23, dedicated to the great mathematician and architect Baha al‐Din Muhammad al‐ʿAmili, Known as Sheikh Baha'i, who, having moved from Ottoman Syria to Safavid Persia, was the architect of Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Hessar Najaf, and the Shah Mosque, creating a sundial to its west. A clear example of his mastery of topography is the channeling of water from the Zajandeh River to various areas of Isfahan, where he also designed the Zarrin Kamar Canal, one of the largest canals in Iran.

Sheikh Baha'i's mind and hand were unstoppable, inventing mechanisms whose workings remain a mystery today. For example, he designed and built a furnace for a public bathhouse, known as the "Baha'i Shaykh Bathhouse," which still exists in Isfahan. He used flammable gases naturally produced in a nearby cesspool to heat the water. In 1969-70, the bathhouse's heating system was excavated, revealing several underground pipes made of sun-dried clay. While many theories exist about the workings of this heating system, it has recently been concluded that he was aware of biogas (a mixture of gases, primarily methane and carbon dioxide) and that the network must have guided the wells of the common toilets of Persian homes and mosques.

In conclusion, Sheikh Baha'i is one of the most important and leading figures of the architectural movement of the Safavid era and the Isfahan school between the 16th and 17th centuries. Although historical research and its accuracy are subject to variation due to the lack of sufficient documentation, attempts have been made to establish a connection between Baha'i's works, based on some of the surviving historical works and on people's perceptions of "supernatural" science. Sheikh Baha'i designed buildings that revealed the spiritual and supernatural nature of the artistic work and its mysteries, and by observing these works, it is possible to understand the architect's mental and spiritual characteristics through the illusion applied to his architectural works.