Three rest cities on the way in Karbala

KARBALA / IraqiNews.com: A local company has initiated work on a project to set up three rest cities at the entrances of Karbala city at a total cost of 19 billion Iraqi dinars. “The rest cities will be built at the city’s northern, southern and eastern entrances, on an area of 40,000 square meters each,” the head of the media department in Karbala’s municipality, Majed Najy, told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The cities will include housing units, parks, praying areas, restaurants, and health centers,” he explained. The estimated completion period of the project is 12 months, he added. 1 U.S. dollar = 1,118 Iraqi dinars. Karbala, with an estimated population of 572,300 people in 2003, is the capital of the province and is considered to be one of Shiite Muslims’ holiest cities. The city, 110 km south of Baghdad, is one of Iraq’s wealthiest, profiting both from religious visitors and agricultural produce, especially dates. It is made up of two districts, “Old Karbala,” the religious centre, and “New Karbala,” the residential district containing Islamic schools and government buildings. At the centre of the old city is Masjid al-Hussein, the tomb of Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad by his daughter Fatima al-Zahraa and Ali Ibn Abi Taleb. Imam Hussien’s tomb is a place of pilgrimage for many Shiite Muslims, especially on the anniversary of the battle, the Day of Ashuraa. Many elderly pilgrims travel there to await death, as they believe the tomb to be one of the gates to paradise. On April 14, 2007, a car bomb exploded about 600 ft (200 m) from the shrine, killing 47 and wounding over 150. SS (S) 1