volume 2 - Robert Bedrosian's Armenian History Workshop

Mashad 'Alt. 275
do that afternoon. The district round about contained
many ancient sites which I should have Uked to visit,
especially the ruins of the great Sassanian city of Al-
Hirah.i which lies about eight miles south of Al-Ktafah,
and Najaf, in or near which 'All ibn Talib, the Khalifah,
was buried^ The ruins of Al-Hirah are too large to be
seen in an hour or two, and I asked Hasan and his friend
if he thought we might ride a few miles towards Najaf,
which is now commonly known as " Mashad' 'Ali,"
or Shrine of 'Ali. I knew that it was impossible for
a Christian to enter even the courtyard of the mosque,
but there seemed no reason why I should not see the
outside of the famous Shi'ite sanctuary. Hasan was
not anxious to take me out on the Najaf road, but he
obtained a couple of camels, and about four o'clock we
started, and rode in an oblique direction for a couple of
miles, and then turned towards Najaf. In a very short
time the town became easily visible, for it stands upon
a sort of rocky ledge, well above the level of the plain.
A wall with towers at frequent intervals runs all round
it ; on the south side the wall is quite straight, but on
the other sides it follows the course of the ledge or spur
on which the town stands. The gilded dome over
'All's tomb was a splendid sight, and the two minarets
on the east side of the courtyard seemed to be masses
of pure gold. Hasan told me that the tiles with which
they were faced were inlaid with sheets of pure gold.
I hoped to have got near enough to the east gate to have
been able to see the coloured tiles of the third minaret
and the walls, but Hasan saw that the " dog of a Christian"
had been noticed by the men who passed us on
the road, and he insisted on turning back, and we returned
to the tents without mishap and passed the night
there.
Early the following morning Hasan's friend came in
' For its history see Yikut, ii, p. 375, who mentions the palace
Khawaznak in the town, and the hunting-box As-Sadir in the desert,
close to the town.
' Many natives still believe that " All's body lies in Al-Kufah.
^ Literally, " place of testimony," i.e., martyrdom.
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