TEHRAN – Photos depict people visiting Shah-e Cheragh (“King of Light”), a major mausoleum and pilgrimage site in the tourist city of Shiraz, southern Iran, on May 26, 2020.

On Monday, the mausoleum reopened along with other holy shrines and grand congregational mosques around the country after more than two months of closure due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Following the official approval of the coronavirus epidemic in Iran, the national headquarters for combating coronavirus promoted the “Stay Home Movement” after the closure of schools and universities, so that the whole country could act based on scientific and effective steps to combat the virus. On March 15, the closure of holy shrines and religious places across the country hit the news.

Shah-e Cheragh is where Sayyed Mir Ahmad, one of the brothers of Imam Reza (AS), is laid to rest. It normally draws hundreds of the faithful from all over the country or even abroad per day.

The dazzling shrine of mirrored tiles boasts architectural elements and motifs from various centuries and its courtyard and tilework represent relatively modern embellishments from the late-Qajar period. Its blue-tiled dome is flanked by dazzling gold-tipped minarets.

There is also a modest museum in the northwestern corner of the courtyard, next to the shrine, which showcases shrine-related objects, including some highly prized old Qurans and an exquisite door embellished with silver and gold.

Visitors are welcome to enter the courtyard in the middle of the complex but the entrance to the shrine is not usually permitted to non-Muslims. Photography with large digital cameras are not permitted.

AFM/MG