Diana Australis' photos with the keyword: pilgrimage

On the road in Southern Iran, near the Iraq border. A rest spot for the thousands of Iranian pilgrims who choose to walk as an act of faith, to Karbala in Iraq. These are set up by local communities along the route, offering food and drink to pilgrims. The Arbaʽeen Pilgrimage, or the Arbaʽeen Walk, is one of world's largest annual public gathering that is held every year in Karbala, Iraq at the end of the 40-day mourning period following Ashura, the religious ritual for the commemoration of martyrdom of the grandson of Prophet Mohammad and the third Shia Muslim Imam Husain. They offered us tea and asked us home for dinner, which happened frequently in Iran, where the people are so very friendly. We were travelling as two people, in a car with a driver, not in a big group or tour.

During the Shi’a period of Ashura, it is considered an act of great faith to make a pilgrimage of up to 700km to Karbala in Iraq, to be there for the 40 th day of Ashura. This is the south of Iran, on the pilgrimage route to Iraq. Local communities make welcoming stops, with food, drink and rest places for the walking pilgrims. This is one such place. The flag is the black mourning flag for Ashura. We stopped on our car journey to Shush and were welcomed very warmly, even invited home for meals. The people in Iran are the most friendly, open and hospitable I have met anywhere.