Tourist Places to Visit in Karbala, Iraq, Asia

Tourist Places to Visit in Karbala, Iraq, Asia

Karbala is considered as one of the cities in Iraq located between 32°37′ N latitude and 44°02′ E longitude. It is the capital city of Karbala Governorate situated about 107 km southwest of Bagdad City. After Mecca and Medina, Karbala is a major holy place of Shia Muslims. According to 2003 Iraqi Census, Karbala had a population of 572,300.

Karbala is well known for the Karbala Battle happened in 680 and is very much famous for one of the sacred place of Iraq ‘Imam Husayn Shrine’. Karbala City is divided into two divisions Old Karbala and New Karbala and the whole city houses more than 100 mosques and 23 religious schools. Karbala has a hot desert climate.

History of Karbala:

Karbala has several argues about its name origin. One source claim that Karbala derives its name from Aramaic language word Karb or Qarb means ‘God’. Another source argues that the name Karbala came from Arabic word Karbalah means “soft earth”.

Cuisine, Culture of Karbala:

Karbala is a heaven of worship places and the famous holy places of Karbala include Al Abbas Mosque, Hadrat Abbas Shrine and Imam Husayn Shrine. Other than mosques Karbala is home to cultural centre of dance and music and Karbala Football Club. Karbala is populated with more than 95% of Muslims, followed by Christians and other communities.

The natives of Karbala use olive oil and pine nuts to cook their food and also the locals have great interest in non vegetarian food items than vegetarian food items. The popular dish of Karbala includes Dolma, Kibbeh, Kofta, Pastırma, Sujuk, Khichdi, Mujaddara, Quzi and Shawarma.

How to reach Karbala?

Karbala is a holy place of Iraq houses plenty of mosques all around the city and is visited by most numbers of pilgrims and tourists from all over the globe. Due to this reason, there are ample numbers of buses frequently running between Karbala and other main cities Iraq to provide healthy transport facility to the tourists.

Karbala is served by Karbala Northeast Airport located about 54 kms from the heart of the city.

Places to see in Karbala:

Imam Husayn Shrine:

Imam Husayn Shrine is one of the ancient mosques in the world located in Karbala City. It is visited by millions of pilgrims annually for its holiness and historical importance and is located in the vicinity of Al Abbas Mosque. There are two ways to reach Imam Husayn Shrine from Bagdad City and Najaf City.

Al Abbas Mosque:

Al Abbas Mosque also termed as Masjid Al Abbas is located near Imam Husayn Mosque in Karbala. This holy place is very much famous among the surrounding regions of Karbala.

Hadrat Abbas Shrine:

Hadrat Abbas Shrine is a historical monument situated in the vicinity of Imam Hussain Shrine in Karbala City. It is visited by plenty of Shia Muslims in the month of Muharram every year.

The list of other tourist attractions near Karbala is as follows: