Karbala & Al-Ukhaidir Fortress
- Jun 3
- 3 min read
Today we are off to see Ukhaidir Fortress, a complex on a major trading route built in 775 AD by a nephew of an Abbasid caliph. The 2-hour drive from Najaf and took us through 2 checkpoints. At the second checkpoint we were delayed for 30-minutes as we waited for a military escort to lead us to the fortress.
Once our military guides arrived, they lead us to the fortress where we encountered another delay. Due to miss communications, all of our permissions had not been received. While our tour company was working behind scenes to support our visit, our escorts suggested we visit the Al Aqiser Church. With so many different government agencies to work through, requests get dropped, someone important in the chain took the day off, someone new on the job isn’t sure of procedures…. it is amazing how much we have been able to see and do.
From the fortress, we followed our escort into the desert and Al Aqiser Church. Built in the 50th century BEC, it is one of the oldest Christian communities. The area is gated and fenced as much has yet to be excavated. The site includes the church, a monastery, and more. We were able to tour the site at leisure. As with other sites we had visited, there were shards of pottery and bricks everywhere! We were very fortunate that our visit was before the predicted rain as the dirt road and site would have been too muddy for our vehicles to access it.
Back to Ukhaidir for take 2. All the permissions had been granted with the exception of photos. It had been recently restored and we were, supposedly, a few days early of the “official opening” date. The fortress, also called the Abbasid Palace. We were told the 19th century British traveler Gertrude Bell had visited Ukhaidir during its excavation and had written a report about the site.
Our guide led us around part of the exterior and then into the interior. It is a huge rectangle with many connected buildings – a palace, a mosque, servents quarters, and protective rest areas for passing traders. Visiting the complex was like walking through a maze, from ground floor to roof top. Accessing a rooftop helped us to better see the scope of the fortress. We were not allowed to take any interior phots, so here is a website with a few photos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ukhaidir_Fortress
From the fortress we drove to Karbala, a large city in Iraq and which serves as a spiritual hub for Shi’a Islam. On the way we passed a construction site of a new pilgrim rest area. After an hour drive, we were in Karbala where we had lunch at Turatu Restaurant. It was 3pm and another feast – I actually took food photos this time! After lunch we checked into our hotel and had a short rest.
At 5pm, the group headed to the Shrines of Imam Hussein and Abbas. Hussein was the grandson of the Prophet Mohamed, and Abbas was his half-brother - both were killed in Karbala.
The shrine was huge and so was the crowd of pilgrims. As with the other shrines, we women wore our abayas. The lines to check your shoes were so long, Wada, our driver offered to sit with our pile of shoes. Once again, we broke up into 2 groups to enter via the men’s and women’s entrances.
The interior of the shrine was much like the Shrine of Ali: mirror tile ceilings, crystal chandeliers, mosaic walls, beautiful rugs, areas for rest and prayers, etc. Our guide, Sylvie, lead us to the Shrine of Hussein. Here we found women, some with children, in a long line trying to get into the shrine. The emotional level was intense and Sylvie explained it had to do with the feeling of a mother’s loss. The shrine area was packed tight and there was a bit of shoving as we got close. Women held their children and babies up to the shrine. Some women dropped money into the shrine, some had tossed scarves or flowers onto the top. Exiting was slow as most were reluctant to leave. The emotion and exhaustion of the experience was evident in their faces, and many of the children in tow were also in tears. So many had traveled great distances to be here – from Iran and Pakistan in addition to Iraq other countries.
When we exited, we were 3/4ths of the way around the building from where we were to meet our group – thank goodness the plaza had numbered columns and we knew which number column to meet at! Near where we gathered, there was a group of pilgrims singing their prayers – men in front, women behind them.
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