Al-Abbas Holy Shrine opens two new basements to pilgrims on birth anniversary of Imam Ali

Yesterday, the Chief Cleric of the Al-Abbas Holy Shrine, Sayyed Ahmad Al-Safi, inaugurated the basements of Imam Hussain and Imam Jawad (peace be upon them), in conjunction with the birth anniversary of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), and in the presence of the President of the Shia Endowment Bureau, Dr. Haider Al-Shammari, the Governor of Karbala and a number of officials.

The head of the Engineering Projects Department at Al-Abbas Holy Shrine, Eng. Diaa Majeed Al-Sayegh, said in a statement, "The area of the Basement of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) is a thousand square meters, with a length of 66 meters and a width of 14.2 meters. Its walls are decorated with inscriptions, and there are marble book shelves to store the Holy Qurans and books of supplications.”

Al-Sayegh added, "The basement contains 32 gold-plated Czech chandeliers with crystals, and the ceiling is covered with mirror work,” pointing out that the aim of the two projects is to reduce the crowdedness in the courtyard of the Holy Shrine of Al-Abbas (peace be upon him).

The engineer explained that concrete pillars had to be built at a depth of seven meters to preserve the 700-year-old foundation of the dome and the minaret.  

Al-Sayegh continued, "The basement is equipped with an integrated cooling system to create a suitable atmosphere for pilgrims to perform their ceremonies and rituals, in addition to the ventilation, lighting, electricity, alarm, fire, monitoring and acoustics systems, as well as escalators.”

 

Emad Bao