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NEJEF, or MESHED
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See also:NEJEF, or See also:MESHED 'See also:ALI, a See also:town of See also:Asiatic See also:Turkey, in the pashalik of See also:Bagdad, 50 M. S. of See also:Kerbela and 5 or 6 m. W. of the ruins of See also:ancient See also:Kufa, out of the bricks of which it is chiefly built. It stands on the eastern edge of the Syrian See also:desert, on the See also:north-eastern See also:shore of a deep depression, formerly a See also:sea, the Assyrium Stagnum of the old geographers, but in latter years drained and turned into gardens for the town. It is a fairly prosperous See also:city, supplied with admirable See also:water by an under-ground See also:aqueduct from the Hindieh See also:canal, a few See also:miles to the north, which also serves to water the gardens in the deep dry See also:bed. of the former See also:lake. The town is enclosed by nearly square See also:brick walls, flanked by massive See also:round towers, dating from the See also:time of the caliphs, but now falling into decay. Outside the walls, over the sterile See also:sand See also:plateau, stretch See also:great See also:fields of tombs and See also:graves, for Nejef is so See also:holy that he who is buried here will surely enter See also:paradise. In the centre of the town stands Meshed (strictly Meshhed) `Ali, the See also:shrine of `Ali, containing the reputed See also:tomb of that See also:caliph, which is regarded by the Shiite Moslems as being no less holy than the Ka'ba itself, although it should be said that it is at least very doubtful whether `Ali was actually buried there. The See also:dome of the shrine is plated with See also:gold, and within the walls and roof are covered with polished See also:silver, See also:glass and coloured tiles. The resting-See also:place of `Ali is represented by a silver tomb with windows grated with silver bars and a See also:door with a great silver See also:lock. Inside this is a smaller tomb of damascened ironwork. In the See also:court before the dome rise two minarets, plated, like the dome, with finely beaten gold from the height of a See also:man and upward. While the See also:population of Nejef is estimated at from 20,000 to 30,000, there is in addition a very large floating population of pilgrims, who are constantly arriving, bringing corpses in all stages of decomposition and accompanied at times by sick and aged persons, who have come to Nejef to See also:die. At See also:special seasons the number of pilgrims exceeds many times the population of the town. Nejef is also the point of departure from which See also:Persian pilgrims start on the'See also:journey to See also:Mecca. No See also:Jews or Christians are allowed to reside there. The accumulated treasures of Meshed `Ali were carried off by the Wahhabites See also:early in the 19th See also:century, and in 1843 the town was deprived of many of its former liberties and compelled to submit to See also:Turkish See also:law; but it is again enormously wealthy, for what is given to the shrine may'never be sold or used for any outside purpose, but constantly accumulates. . Moreover, the See also:hierarchy derives a vast See also:revenue from the fees for burials in the sacred limits. See W. K. See also:Loftus, See also:Chaldaea and Susiana (1857) ; J. P. See also:Peters, See also:Nippur (1897); B. Meissner, Hirau Huarnaq (1901). (J. P. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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