AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Services will be provided to pilgrims by Iranian Mawkibs until three days after Arbaeen, namely August 28, an official said.
Mawkibs are resting places with special facilities and services for pilgrims set up on roads leading to Karbala and elsewhere during the pilgrimage.
Majid Namjoo, secretary of the grassroots contributions, accommodation and food committee of Arbaeen, said there are 3,000 Mawkibs set up by Iran in the country and in Iraq for Arbaeen.
Some 1,130 Iranian Mawkibs have been set up in Iraq, including in Karbala, Najaf, Samarra, and Kadhimiya, and the rest are in Iran’s border areas, he stated.
He said that every year, it is the tradition that Iraqi Mawkibs are dismantled on the evening of the 20th day of Safar, the day of Arbaeen.
That is why Iranian Mawkibs are going to continue serving the pilgrims for three more days, he stated.
Namjoo also said the first wave of Iranian pilgrims traveling to Iraq for Arbaeen are returning to the country while there is a surge in the number of those beginning their trip to the Arab country as the day of Arbaeen approaches.
He predicted that the total number of Iranian Arbaeen pilgrims this year will be around 5 million.
Arbaeen is a religious event observed by Shia Muslims on the fortieth day after the Day of Ashura, commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the third Shia imam. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world, with millions of Shia Muslims walking to Karbala from various cities in Iraq and neighboring countries.
This year, the day of Arbaeen falls on August 25.
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