125,000 visitors converge on Karbala for Arbaeen visit

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: Nearly 125,000 Arab and foreign pilgrims have arrived in Iraq’s holy Shiite city of Karbala to perform the Arbaeen pilgrimage, scheduled for Monday, according to an official local source. “Iranian visitors are the highest in number- 60 percent, followed by pilgrims from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait,” the head of the tourism committee in Karbala’s provincial council, Sheikh Abdelhassan al-Furati, told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The total number of visitors is expected to reach 140,000 on the day of the pilgrimage,” Sheikh Furati added. The Arbaeen is a religious occasion marking the 40 th day after the death of Imam al-Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson and the third holiest figure for Shiite Muslims, in the battle of Taf in Karbala in the Hijri year 61 (680 in the Gregorian calendar). Scores of pilgrims from inside and outside Iraq have started the long trek on foot for the Arbaeen pilgrimage. Tight security measures have been in force and a large number of security personnel have been deployed in Iraq’s holy sites in preparation for the occasion. Karbala, said to be housing the tombs of Imam al-Hussein and his brother Imam al-Abbas, lies 130 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (S)/SR 1