Mashhad

Mashhad, the capital and largest city of Khorasan-e Razavi province in the mountainous region of northeastern Iran, is considered to be Iran's holiest city. Mashhad, which literally means “place of martyrdom,” has a population of more than 2.5 million and is the second largest city in the country. Located about 530 miles (1 mile = 1.609 kilometers) northeast of Tehran, Mashhad is home to many tourist attractions; but most important, it is the location of the tomb of Imam Reza, the eighth imam (head spiritual leader) of Shi'a Islam, who was martyred in 818 CE.

Following the 13th-century Mongol invasions, Mashhad underwent a period of growth and development. The Mongol raids had left many cities in the Greater Khorasan area devastated but had left Mashhad relatively intact. As a result, people in the area migrated to Mashhad and began to [Page 758]expand and develop the city. Previously known as Sanabad, the city changed its name after Imam Reza was killed and then buried there.

Imam Reza is the only Shi'a saint buried in Iran; his shrine, managed by the Razavi Foundation, is one of the holiest and most visited sites in the Islamic world and is believed to be Iran's single wealthiest institution. The foundation owns vast tracts of land, hotels, and factories; has funded the building of new highways and an international airport; and has established investment banks with foreign investors. Its net asset value is estimated at a minimum of $15 billion. The foundation also receives year-round contributions from the millions of pilgrims who visit the shrine from countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Kazakistan, and the neighboring Persian Gulf countries. The total revenues generated are believed to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The complex that contains the Imam's tomb also includes the 15th-century Gohar Shad Mosque, an ancient museum, several courtyards and seminaries, the Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, and the Central Library Complex. With a history dating back more than six centuries, the Central Library Complex of Astan-e Quds Razavi is one of the oldest libraries in the Middle East, shelving about 70,000 rare manuscripts and 6 million historical documents.

The city is visited by more than 20 million pilgrims annually. In the same way as many faithful Muslims travel to Saudi Arabia to complete the hajj (a pilgrimage to Mecca and one of the five pillars of Islam), becoming hajjis, many other Muslims visit Mashhad, becoming mashtees.

Also contributing to the city's popularity is the fact that Mashhad is the birthplace of many influential Islamic leaders, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—the figurative head of the Muslim conservative establishment in Iran—and Grand Ayatullah Ali Sistani—the highest-ranking Shi'a Muslim religious scholar in Iraq.

While the city is a popular place to visit because of its religious sites, Mashhad is also known for its cultural contributions. Mashhad is dubbed the “City of Ferdowsi” after the highly revereved 10th-century Iranian author Hakīm Abu'l-Qasim Firdowsī Tūsī, known for his national epic Shahnameh (Book of Kings). The book is seen as a work that has preserved Iranian culture, as Ferdowsi took care to use a pure form of Farsi in his book, which celebrates ancient Persian culture undiluted by Arab culture and the Arabic language. The city therefore celebrates a combiniation of ancient Persian culture and Shi'a Islam.

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