TEHRAN – Iran’s Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) announced the winners of a photo contest on the annual pilgrimage of Arbaeen on Monday.

The contest organized by the IIDCYA put its spotlight on children who attended the large gathering of Shia Muslims in Iraq, the institute announced in a press release.

The contest was held in two sections, one with participants aged 12 to 18 and the other adults above 18.

Photos by Amirhossein Ghiaszadeh, Zeinab Azizi and Mahsa Shavandi were honored in the young adult section.  Fatemeh Peymanpak, Mehdi Jafari and Mahnaz Nurian won the awards in the adults' section.

A jury composed of Alireza Karimi-Saremi, Mohammad Sattari and Mamak Yahyapur selected the winning photos from about 5000 submissions.

The IIDCYA plans to showcase a selection of the top works in an exhibition.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians embark on a journey to the Iraqi city of Karbala to observe the holy day of Arbaeen at the holy shrines of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam of the Shia, and his brother, Hazrat Abbas (AS).       

Arbaeen marks the end of the 40-day mourning period following the martyrdom of the Imam and his loyal companions on Ashura.

Photo: Arbaeen pilgrims in Iraq. (Tasnim/Hassan Zarifmanesh)

RM/MMS/YAW