Iraq vol.1

Today was another day when my mailbox was happy.But this time it was very happy.Because there were two amazing cards from ..........IRAQ.For that I must thank Mildez from Baghdad:)

He made me very happy.Thanks:).Iraq is a rare country in postcrossing and I am soo happy that I have two cards from there.Sadly some stamps were missing from the envelope("thanks" to postal service ,I guess)

This card is showing a map of Iraq and the grave of Al-Imam Ali(P.P.U.H),Al-Najaf Al-Ashraf.

The Imām ‘Alī Holy Shrine (Arabic: حرم الإمام علي‎), also known as Masjid Ali or theMosque of ‘Alī, located in Najaf, Iraq, is the third holiest site for some of the estimated 200 million followers of the Shia branch of Islam. ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib, the cousin ofMuhammad, the fourth caliph is buried here. Buried next to Ali within this mosque are the remains of Adam and Noah according to Shi'a belief.

The shrine was first built by the Iranian ruler the Daylamite Fannakhosraw Azod ad Dowlehin 977 over the tomb of Ali. After being destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt by the Seljuk Malik Shah I in 1086, and rebuilt yet again by the Safavid Shah Ismail I shortly after 1500.

During the uprising of March 1991, following the Persian Gulf War, Saddam Hussein's Republican Guards damaged the shrine, where members of the Shia opposition were cornered, in storming the shrine and massacring virtually all its occupants. Afterwards the shrine was closed for two years, officially for repairs. Saddam also deported to Iran a large number of the residents of the area who were of Iranian descent.

As the burial site of Islam's second most important figure, the Imām ‘Alī Mosque is considered by all Shias as the third holiest Islamic site The Boston Globereports “for the world's nearly 120 million Muslim Shias, Najaf is the third holiest city, behind Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. for some of the estimated 200 million followers of the Shī‘ah branch of Islām worldwide – approximately 15 percent of total Muslims. It is estimated that only Karbalā, Makkah and Madīnah receive more Muslim pilgrims.A famous hadith mentions the site as one of "five definitive holy places that we respect very much".