Tehran – Mashhad, the capital of Iran’s northeastern Khorasan Razabi province and home to the shrine of Imam Reza (AS), hosts over 4.4 million visitors in nine days marking one of the biggest religious gatherings of the year.
A total of 4,476,709 pilgrims and travelers arrived in the city between August 14 and August 22 (23-31 Moldad 1404 in the Iranian calendar), according to state officials. The influx coincides with the last day of Safa’s Islamic Moon, a special spiritual importance to Shiite Muslims around the world.
Hojjatoleslam Ali Askari, deputy director of Khorasan Razavi Pilgrimage Services headquarters, reported that the arrival was facilitated through multiple transport routes. More than 102,800, 158,500 by train, 189,200 by road transport companies, and 3.67 million by private vehicles. Additionally, 357,330 pilgrims arrived on foot, walking to Mashhad, centuries ago.
Accommodation throughout the state is also in considerable demand. Askari said the official, temporary and emergency accommodation centre occupancy rate was 66% across Khorasan Razavi and 71% of Mashhad itself over the nine days. Meanwhile, the community has held overnight stays in an estimated 195,334 private homes through the Grassroots Hospitality Initiative, which provides free accommodation for pilgrims.
Last week, Gholamhossein Mozaffari, governor of Khorasan Razavi, who heads the state’s pilgrimage service headquarters, said he expects to host 6.5 million to 7 million pilgrims in the last 10 days of SAFAR.
He highlighted that both government agencies and communities have mobilized resources to ensure “organized, high quality services” for visitors, citing their past few years of experience as a reliable foundation for managing the pilgrimage season.
“Hospitality has become a tradition in the Mashhad community, with many residents opening their homes to pilgrims,” Mozafari pointed out. “This participation is the foundation of travel management.”
The last ten days of Safah are of great importance to Shia Muslims, coinciding with Albain, 40 days after the martial religion of Imam Hussein at the Battle of Karbara in 680. The main focus of Albain remains a pilgrimage to Karbara, Iraq, but Mashhad is at the shrine of Imam Reza (AS).
Surrounded by hotels, guesthouses and cultural centres, the shrine attracts millions of national and international pilgrims each year, making Mashhad one of the most visited religious cities in the world. Recognizing its cultural significance, in 2020, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts engraved the pilgrimage tradition to the shrine of Imam Reza, which is on the national list of intangible cultural heritage.
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