ONCE UPON A TIME IN IRAN: PILGRIMAGE TO KARBALA #4

ONCE UPON A TIME IN IRAN: PILGRIMAGE TO KARBALA PART 4 of 4

Karbala is a city in Iraq, located about 100 km southwest of Baghdad at 32.61°N, 44.08°E. In the time of Husayn ibn Alī's life, the place was also known as al-Ghadiriyah, Naynawa & Shathi'ul-Furaat. The estimated population in 2003 was 572,300 people. It is the capital of Karbala Province.

Shi'a Muslims consider Karbala to be one of their holiest cities after Makkah, Madinah, Jerusalem and Najaf. The city is best known as the location of the Battle of Karbala.

The city is one of Iraq's wealthiest, profiting both from religious visitors and agricultural produce, especially dates. It is made up of two districts, "Old Karbala," the religious centre, and "New Karbala," the residential district containing Islamic schools and government buildings.

At the centre of the old city is the Masjid Al-Husayn, the tomb of Husayn ibn ˤAlī, grandson of the Prophet Muħammad by his daughter Fatimah az-Zahra and Alī ibn Abu-Taalib. Husayn's tomb is a place of pilgrimage for many Shīa Muslims, especially on the anniversary of the battle, the Day of Āshūrā. Many elderly pilgrims travel there to await death, as they believe the tomb to be one of the gates to paradise.

On April 14, 2007, a car bomb exploded about 200 yards from the shrine, killing 47 and wounding over 150. Another focal point of the Shīˤa pilgrimage to Karbala is al-Makhayam, traditionally believed to be the location of Hussayn's camp, where the martyrdom of Hussayn and his followers is publicly commemorated.On April 28th a bomb exploded killing 55 people from which three of them were Mumineen Men.

The city's association with Shīa Islām have made it a centre of religious instruction as well as worship; it has more than 100 mosques and 23 religious schools, of which possibly the most famous is that of Ibn Fahid, constructed some 440 years ago.