Najaf, Iraq: November 4 and 5, 2025

Cecilia Clark
2 days ago
3 min read

There are just three women in our group and the three of us had to get properly dressed before getting out of the bus. Najaf is recognized as one of the holiest places in Shia Islam, therefore, women must have their hair and bodies covered in all public spaces. We each wore an abaya. It was one piece of cloth with a small opening to put your face into while at the same time it kept our hair covered. A little tricky to manage when it is your first time wearing it. Below, is photographer Jennifer Spelman and fellow traveler and photographer Brooke.

We arrived in the holy city of Najaf and ran up a four-story parking structure just as the sun was about to set. From four stories up we had a great view of the largest cemetery in the world known as Valley of Peace (Al Wadi Saalam) Cemetery. More than six million bodies are buried in the cemetery. For 1400 years there have been daily burials. Valley of Peace was a holy cemetery for Jews prior to the 7th century.

Shia believe that if you are buried in Valley of Peace your soul/body will experience less suffering while waiting for judgment day.

From the parking garage, we walked to the hotel passing by the Imam Ali Holy Shrine. Through the entrance, we could see the two minarets and the rising full moon.

After checking into the hotel and taking a rest, we met up to enter the Holy Shrine. Men and women had separate entrances. In the women's entrance I was aggressively patted down by a woman who saw the surprise in my face and said "men." The patting in particular places was to ensure I wasn't a man sneaking into the women's side.

No cameras were allowed and in fact there was a sign near the shrine exit that said "No Photography." Cell phones were everywhere and everyone was using them to photograph their experience. We (the women) met our local female guide Jumala. The interior of the building on the women's side was huge with lots of glitz, chandeliers, and mirrored surfaces. Women were coming and going, praying, or relaxing on the carpets.

Jumala was great at explaining what we were going to see. We first stood in line to enter the shrine but when she was told it would be over an hour before our place in line would get us inside, we backed our way out and she led us to the shrine exit and we walked inside.

Jumala said there are three bodies entombed in the sarcophagus: Adam, the father of man; Noah; and Imam Ali. The day we visited was the anniversary of the death of Imam Ali's wife Fatima. Fatima was the Prophet's daughter.

Entering the exit, we were immediately faced with the tomb surrounded by women. The other side would have been packed with men, but like the walls of Jericho we were protected from their sight.

We were occasionally hit on the head by women brandishing "feather-dusters." This was to keep women moving. If a woman stayed too long at the tomb or gripped the bars to tightly, the feather-duster women flicked heads and hands.

Jumala pushed us closer and we got the evil eye from a feather-duster woman. Jumala had a brief conversation with her and she let us in and even posed for my photo.

Getting away from the crowd of women we had a chance to meet them. We met women from Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, as well as women from other parts of Iraq. Each one was genuinely welcoming and kind to us. Again we took their photos and they took ours.

After the intense body heat of the shrine, it was good to be out in the open, reunited with my camera, and find the male members of our group. We walked through the Najaf bazaar and out to our hotel.

The next morning there were processions on the street in front of the hotel. I even saw the sychronized, flagelation group that performed on the men's side the night before.