TEHRAN—More than 4.5 million travelers have visited Mashhad during the last ten days of Safar, which is a remarkable lunar month for Shia Muslims.

The number of travelers visiting Mashhad from September 6 to 15, which traditionally marks special religious rituals and pilgrimage, reached 4.5 million, IRNA quoted a local official as saying on Saturday.

Traditionally, in the lunar month of Safar, thousands of people gather in Mashhad to commemorate Arbaeen, which marks an end to the 40-day mourning period following the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) and his loyal companions at the Battle of Karbala on Muharram 10 in the year 61 AH (680 CE).

The annual Arbaeen pilgrimage is originally destined for Karbala, where the Imam Hussein (AS) is laid to rest. However, Mashhad has long been a destination for thousands of Shia pilgrims to mark the occasion. This year, Arbaeen Day was commemorated on September 6.

Mashhad is Iran’s holiest city. Its raison d’être is the striking shrine complex of the eighth Shia Imam that is encircled by dozens of five-star hotels and many other accommodation centers.

In August 2020, the spiritual tradition of pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS) was registered on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts.

AFM