And outside the main entrance to Imam Ali Mosque. The mosque is home to the tomb of Imam Ali, the cousin of Muhammad, the first Imam (according to Shia belief) and fourth caliph (according to Sunni belief).


After taking off our shoes and leaving our phones and camera's with Amad, we then entered the mosque after a thorough security pat down (Photo sourced from Wikipedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0).


Raad again lead us with the throngs of pilgrims to the tomb of the Imam Ali. According to Shi'a belief, buried next to Ali are also the remains of Adam and Noah.

As with our visit to the two holy Mosques in Karbala, being amongst the pilgrims at such a revered and holy place was a great privilege and was quite a moving and memorable experience.

With the approaching Maghrib prayer time (and influx of pilgrims into the mosque) we made our way back to the indoor souk.