Video shared by Indian influential travel of the Kumar, known under her Instagram Handle Monkey. In a distinctive video, the frame fills the large sea of beige box structures that resemble the city panorama. This video opens to show a huge, firmly wrapped landscape, which at first glance resembles a dense urban settlement – ranks on the ranks of boxes, beige structures that crammed under a clear blue sky. But a closer look shows that it is not a residential area at all – it is a cemetery, ”she shared with her followers.
What seems to be a labyrinth of urban panorant is in fact a monumental scale necropolis – the final place of rest of more than six million people and one of the most sacred places in the Shiite Muslim world.
Read | Broken bones, eating in the cemetery: Scientists discover ancient human skeletons and reveal the mysteries of medieval women
The city of the dead
Wadi Al-Salam is located in Najafu, one of the most sacred Islam cities, distributes more than 917 hectares, or over 1700 football playgrounds, making it the largest funeral ground in the world, a title formally recognized by the Guinness Book. The cemetery occupies almost 13 percent of the land NAVAF and is constantly expanding, while the Reuters 2021 report notes that it is growing double the usual rate.
Wadi al-Salam is deeply important both culturally and spiritually. According to UNESCO, dozens of prophets, scientists, kings and Royals are home to graves, some of them date back to ancient times. The origin of the cemetery precedes the Middle Ages and among those who are buried here are the rulers of the Kingdom of Al-Hira, the leaders of the al-Sassani era and the Sultans, and the princes of historical Islamic dynasties such as Hamdania, Al-Bowayhyia, Saffaway, Qajar and Jalairiyah.
The central point of its religious significance is the tomb of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib, cousin and the son -in -law prophet Mohammad and a worshiped figure in Shia Islam. Its funeral here increases the place to a global pilgrimage. Every year, nearly 50,000 people from all over the Shiite Muslim world are laid to relax in Wadi Al-Salam.
“A unique example of cultural tradition”
UNESCO describes the place as a “unique example of cultural tradition” and “traditional land use method”. Its huge area of tombs and mausoleum is a testimony of centuries of religious devotion, architectural tradition and funeral practice.
The cemetery seems almost unreal from above. The rows of beige stone structures, firmly wrapped and uniforms, give the illusion of a densely populated city – an impression lively illustrated in Kumar’s viral video. On the ground they feel even more like a maze. The cemetery has a mixture of lower graves dug into the ground and high graves, also known as the towers, which contributes to its architectural density and disorienting scale.
Despite his spiritual and historical grandeur, the funeral in Wadi Al-Salam remains relatively affordable. The AFP report noted that the cost of digging the grave is about $ 100, while the tombstones usually range between $ 170 and $ 200.
(Tagstotranslate) Wadi al-Salam
