feeling the passion of religious pilgrims
I'm not a religious person, but still find it interesting to hear about others' beliefs, and enjoy visiting their cathedrals/mosques/temples/shrines and witnessing their ceremonies. I particularly like Shia mosques, which are incredibly ornate and beautiful. & the southern part of Iraq is full of Shia mosques and shrines (like the above mosque of Imam Ali in Najaf) so I was in my element visiting the region on a guided tour last month. But it wasn't just that the buildings were beautiful. These were the most important buildings in the world for Shia Muslims - the mosques and shrines comemorating Imam Ali (Mohammed's cousin and son-in-law, whom the Shia believed should be the one to succeed him as leader of the faith - who eventually became the fourth caliph but was then assassinated) and Hussein (Ali's son, killed and decapitated). To my surprise, we foreigners were allowed into these buildings (provided we were properly covered) - not just into the courtyar...