Adventures in Asia: Imam Ali Shrine, Najaf, Iraq

Just as in Karbala, the shrine in Najaf attracts thousands of pilgrims every day. Karrar parked down the by the Najaf Sea below the Imam Ali shrine and we made our way up the hill.

Along the way I found the items for sale at this booth quite interesting as they offer a glimpse into contemporary Shia Islam. Among other things, we are seeing depicted the 7th Imam Ali (often pictured with a lion) and the 20th century Iraqi Mullah Mohammad al-Sadr. In the 21st century, Mohammad al-Sadr's son, Muqtada al-Sadr, is an extremely influential mullah in Iraq and Shia Islam, and there are photos of him in the booth, too (often depicted with his late father). Muqtada al-Sadr is the founder of an important anti-American and then later anti-ISIS militia (the Mahdi Army). 

Saddam Hussein had largely eliminated pilgrimages to Karbala and Najaf, so really it has only been in the last twenty or so years that extremely large numbers of pilgrims have been visiting these sites (for centuries prior they were pilgrimage destinations, but both due to population growth and transportation advances the numbers are far higher today than any other time in history). It is clear that infrastructure development has struggled to keep pace with the increase in pilgrims, but in Najaf in particular it was evident that investments are being made in an attempt to catch up. So, for example, this covered escalator corridor has been built to transport people from the bottom of the hill where many of them park or are dropped off by buses.

Once out of the corridor, you arrive at a newly built square. 

My sense is eventually you will be able to pass through the square and into the shrine, but at the moment to access the shrine you actually have to go around, so the square itself was relatively quiet.

You enter the shrine from the north, with men and women splitting up under this awning in the photo below. You can also check your shoes here. 

As we were about to enter, men with a coffin passed by. Prior to burial in Wadi-us-Salaam the practice is for the deceased to visit Imam Ali's shrine, and although there were many, many people, the crowd managed to give space to let the pallbearers through. 

Once inside, I was astounded at all the gold on the minarets, entryway and dome of the shrine itself. I am sure I have never seen so much gold all in one place before!

Here are some video clips from the courtyard:

Once through the golden archway, you approach the tomb, which looks much like those of Imam Husayn and Abbas in Najaf. The press of bodies is super intense as you ger close, but I managed to touch it with my fingers before being swept onward by the crowd.

Once you exit the inner room you enter a truly dazzling prayer hall. 

Outside I thought I was seeing more gold than I ever had before, and in this room I think there must be more mirrors and crystals than I have ever seen before! 

We spent a few minutes in this room, where the crowd was thinner, before heading out.

By the way, I have visited countless mosques around the world, but something I do not remember seeing until here in Iraq is the use of turbahs. These are clay discs that are used to rest your forehead on when praying. I found this online: "Shia jurisprudence requires that the forehead must rest on a natural element from the earth (like soil, clay, stone, sand, or un-wearable plant matter) rather than synthetic materials or carpets." The clay is often sourced from Karbala or Najaf. Although in the box below the turbahs appear to be plain, in other places they are inscribed with calligraphy. I was quite taken with them, so I bought one from a store later to take home as a souvenir. 

After our visit to Imam Ali's shrine, it was time for lunch, and after we returned to the car Karrar took us to a restaurant close to our hotel. They were serving some incredible chicken dishes.

As we are getting used to in Iraq, the table was soon full of all sorts of dishes and the amazing Iraqi bread.

I have been enjoying ayran with a few meals in the Middle East, but today I was especially enthusiastic to have it served in this lovely mug. 

Actually, eventually I picked up that there is an ayran machine right by our table--I have never seen this before!