Kerbela

Kerbela

among the Mohammedans, is a place held by the Shiites (q.v.) as peculiarly sacred, because it is the seat of the tomb of Hossein (q.v.), the son of Ali. It is situated in Asiatic Turkey, twenty-eight miles north-west of the ruins of Babylon. It is a favorite place of pilgrimage to the Persian Mohammedans, who carry away small portions of the sacred soil, put it in little bags, which they place before them during their devotions to bow their heads upon, and thus worship on. holy ground. The pilgrims resorting annually to Kerbela are estimated at eighty thousand, and they bring with them from Persia eight thousand corpses annually to be interred in the sacred spot.