KARBALA
The city of Karbala is located 102 km from the city of Baghdad, and Yaqut Al-Hamawi mentioned in his Mu’jam Al-Buldan book in the origin of the city’s name: “As for the name’s origin, “Karbala” is the loose in the feet, we say: he came walking then his “Karbala”, so it is permissible to think that it was named as such for that the land of this place is loose”. As for Al-Karmali, he says in some of the researchers’ books that Karbala is carved from two words: “Karb” and “Allah” meaning Allah’s sanctuary or mosque.
Among the most prominent monuments in the city are:-
Al-Ukhaydir Fort:
It is considered one of the greatest forts in the Middle East and the best Arab building that shows Islamic architecture. The fort belongs to the Karbala governorate and is located in the district of Ain Tamr, which is 15 km from Baghdad and 50 km southwest of the city of Karbala. Its ancient location was at the crossroads of trade routes and caravans passing between the cities of Kufa, Basra, Mosul, Damascus and the Levant. Al-Ukhaydir fort is considered as the mysterious secret that historians’ studies were unable to determine the date and reason for its construction and the origin of its name, as most of the sayings in this regard do not go beyond the limits of assumptions.
It is said that Al-Ukhaydir fort is called so due to the greenness of its location in the spring and rain, while the famous Iraqi researcher, Mr. Mahmoud Shukri Al-Alusi, said that the name of Al-Ukhaidir was named after (Al-Ukaider), one of the princes of the (Kinda) tribe who converted to Islam in the early days of Islam.
As for the date of its construction, there are two versions:
The first version assumes that it dates back to the pre-Islamic era. The orientalist Masnion said that it is Al-Sadir Palace, where the Baladri historian confirmed in his book (Futuh Al-Buldan) that this palace existed before the Islamic conquests, and it was called the Palace of King Sabur, and this is evidence that the palace existed before Islam. Note that the Islamic conquest reached this place in the year 15 AH, led by Khaled Ibn Al-Walid, who conquered the area with the famous Battle of Ain Al-Tamr.
While the second version assumes that it dates back to the Islamic era, and they differed in determining the time period to which the palace belongs, where Al-Muhannadi (Crizole) believes that it was built by one of the princes of Banu Abbas: Issa bin Musa, who was the governor of Kufa during the reign of his uncle Al-Mansur, but when the caliphate passed to Al-Mansur, but Issa gave up the caliphate in the face of pressure, so he left the cities and went to live in the desert, where Al-Ukhaydir Palace was built.
As for the researcher (Mussell Bell), she was the first to notice the presence of the mosque in the palace in 1909 AD and believed that it was (Dumat Al-Hira), which was built in the time of the Umayyads, and the last and correct assumption is the one that Crisol went to.
Before entering this majestic edifice, you see a fortified wall surrounding the palace similar to military castles. It is a rectangle measuring 169 * 175 meters and it contains 4 doors placed on the four directions, called the corner towers, each with a diameter of 5 meters, in addition to 44 towers surrounding the outer wall.
The fort is where the Syrian series Al-Mutanabbi were set, produced by Abu Dhabi TV, and the role of Al-Mutanabbi was played by the great Syrian actor Salloum Haddad and the role Al-Mutanabbi when he was young was played by the Iraqi actor Ghalib Jawad.
Al-Uqaisir Church or Al-Qusair Church:
It is 5 km away from Al-Ukhaydir fort. Its construction dates back to the fifth century AD, and it is considered the oldest church in the Middle East, built of limestone and fixed with plaster.
Al-Uqaisir Church is a very old Christian settlement that was built in the middle of the desert for fear of the authority at the time, and it used to take water from underground wells. The Sassanid state was tolerant of this church, in defiance of the Romans.
Its traces are still clear with Aramaic inscriptions on its walls, in addition to the existence of the altar, which faces towards Jerusalem, which is elevated by the rest of the church floor. You can also see the monuments of the graves near the Church. The word “Qusair” is local, and it is a diminutive of the Arabic word for “Palace”.
Tar Caves:
This name belongs to the citizens of the region, where every height from the earth is called a tar, and it is mentioned in the Holy Quran as “Tour Sinin”, i.e. the mountain. These rocky heights extend from Karbala, Imam Ali Dropper Shrine to the Najaf sea, and it is made up of a group of caves surrounded by a number of valleys. Under the important site on the island, there are about 400 caves under which people lived. This rocky area was excavated by a Japanese mission, headed by professor Fuji, and during the analysis, the housing in those caves went back to the year 1300 BC.
Fuji believes that the analyzes of the tests conducted on the rocks of the caves indicated that they were artificially made by humans in the layers of rocks saturated with calcium bicarbonate around the year 1300 BC, and that the cause of pits or diggings is due to defensive purposes. The caves were then used to bury dead people who used to live therein.
These caves, thanks to their strategic location, were used by tribes and as stations for convoys coming from the desert, as well as a place of retreat for the clergy in the state of Al-Manathira, and they turned them into monasteries and places for seclusion and worship in certain periods, and then eventually turned into graves, according to what the excavation missions found.
Imam Ali Dropper Shrine:
It is a fountain called Imam Ali Dropper Shrine, located in the western desert of Karbala governorate, about 28 km away from the governorate center near Razzaza Lake. Historians say that when Imam Ali went to Sifin, his army caught up with thirst, then Imam Ali found in the middle of the desert a rock, which he peeled with his hand, and fresh water came out of it and is still flowing therefrom until now.
The area is defined from the end of the Kufa and Najaf plateau overlooking the depression of Razzaza Lake, where there was a lot of streams of water that descended through the layers of the plateau’s soil. In the mid-nineties, this site was considered to have a connection with one of the narrations that indicate that Imam Ali came to this site seeking water.
Razzaza Lake:
It is derived from the Euphrates River, and is considered the second largest water body in Iraq after Therthar Lake. Moreover, it is considered one of the important water lakes for the bound presence of birds and fish and for its special salty water.
Chamoun Palace:
In Ain Al-Tamr, it is one of the ancient archaeological palaces in Iraq and the oldest palaces in Karbala governorate and one of the most prominent historical and cultural monuments therein.
Ruins of Mujada:
The Mujada Lighthouse is located in the city of Karbala. It is located near the city of Karbala in the middle of the Western Desert and is about 40 km away from it. Specifically, the lighthouse is located to the left of the road between Karbala and Ain Al-Tamr district and is located about 14 km south of the city of Karbala. The date of its construction is not known. As for its shape, it is a cylinder-shaped base with a square base that is more than 30 meters above the surface. The Ruins of Mujada were named “Al-Mawqada”, which is a local word for the kindling of fires at its top at the night of those who went astray in the desert.
Khan al-Rub’ or Khan al-Nakhilah:
One of the archaeological khans in Iraq, 16 km from the center of Karbala Governorate, it was called Khan Al-Rub’, as it was located a quarter of the distance between Karbala and Najaf. Its construction dates back to the Ottoman era during the reign of Governor Suleiman Pasha the Great in 1983 AD. It is a rest stop for travelers, caravans and pilgrims. It was rebuilt in 1897 AD, and the last renovation and reconstruction process took place in 2011.
Al-Hussain Shrine:
Karbala, the city of martyrdom and redemption, occupies a prominent place in the hearts of Muslims and they long for it when they are thousands of miles away from it. It is the place in which the father of the martyrs, Imam Al-Hussain Ibn Ali Ibn Abi Talib was martyred on the tenth of Muharram in the year 61 AH / 680 AD in the famous historical incident of Al-Taf.
Regarding the history of Al-Hussain Shrine, which goes back to ancient times, historical sources say that the first building that housed the immaculate tomb dates back to the year 65 AH / 685 AD, and after nearly two centuries, the Abbasid Caliph al-Muntasir Billah 247 AH / 861 AD renovated the tomb and in the fifth century AH Al-Hassan bin Fadl built a wall surrounding the shrine.
Al-Hussain Shrine consists of a courtyard, a hall, a hallway, and an inner garden, and in the middle of it is the holy shrine.
The dome is located above the mausoleum and is surrounded by two minarets painted with gold. The Iraqi architecture mastered its construction and became one of the verses of Islamic architecture.
Abbasid Shrine:
The Abbasid Shrine includes the holy shrine of Imam al-Abbas, who was martyred with his brother Imam Hussain in the famous incident of Al-Taf in the year 61 AH, and after 34-odd years, a shed was built above his tomb. to stabilize its current situation.Then, the construction work continued on the shrine before it was settled on its current status.
The two shrines: Al-Hussain Shrine and the Abbasid Shrine are strikingly symmetrical in the heart of the city, as the first is located on the eastern side of the second.
There is only a distance of 300 meters between the two shrines. The Abbasid Shrine is decorated by the splendor and originality of Arab-Islamic architecture, as no corner of its corners are devoid of exquisite artistic decorations that speak of splendor and perfection.
The Abbasid Shrine, like Al-Hussain Shrine, is one of the most luxurious Iraqi holy shrines, given its vast area and the size of its priceless antiques.
