Travel Guide Qom

The second place of Shia pilgrimage after Machhad and the first theological teaching center in Iran, Qom the holy to the golden couplings is one of the most conservative cities in the country. The capital of the eponymous province, the road crossroads and railway node connecting the south to Tehran, at the heart of a burning desert area, the socio-economic activities of this old rural market and cotton center gravitate mainly around the pilgrimage and sanctuary of Fatima.Qom, holy cityThe city, founded at the beginning of the century by the Shia Arabs of Kufa, hostile to the caliphate of Sunnis, is gradually being imposed with Rayy and Kashan as one of the country's great religious poles. Fatima, on his way to visit his brother Imam Reza (eighth Imam of the Shiites), died in fact in 816. Madrasas (Koranic schools) will promote the emergence of famous mullahs, including the famous Ebn Babuye, dead at the end of the tenth century. Maintained by the Bouyide dynasty (932-1055), the prestige of madrasas is maintained under the Seljukides, in xiie century. Experienced by Mongolian invasions in the thirteenth century, the city will benefit from the protection of the descendants of Tamerlan. In the sixteenth century, safavid kings (1501-1722) make their winter capital. Many of them are buried in the shadow of the sanctuary. At the beginning of the twentieth century, during the constitutional revolution of 1905, Qom houses a large number of political opponents to the Qadjar dynasty. With the revival of the traditional educational center, the religious challenge of Iran's last Shah regime is intensifying. Under Mossadegh (1951-1953) mullahs call their faithful to the rebellion, like Ayatollah Khomeiny (1898-1989).Permanent PilgrimageQom seems entirely focused on the teaching of the feqh, religious law. In the shadow of the golden dome of the mausoleum of Fatima, a crowd of fervent theology students listen to the priests of the religious. Students and mullahs in black or white tones are masters on the scene. Women are covered by the chador, with few exceptions.City of pilgrimage, Qom also attracts thousands of Shia pilgrims throughout the whole year, converting to the magnificent Hazrat-e Fatemeh Masumeh Shrine or Fatima la Pure. During the Moharran, a month of mourning commemorating Hossein martyrdom, the crowd is at its height. Kneeling in front of Fatima burial, watering rose water permanently, women begging beauty, fertility and conjugal happiness. Located near the river, the immense sacred enclosure, topped by its impressive domed dome dome, is the heart of the holy city. A picturesque small square dominated by the top minarets and the gigantic iwan serving as an entrance portal allows access to the interior courtyard of the mausoleum. Non-Muslims, however, are not allowed to enter the sanctuary. Highly recommended compliance and discretion. The magnificent sanctuary around the tomb of Fatima was built under shah Abbas I and the following safavide kings, eager to establish their power under Ottoman occupation and to counterbalance the mausoleum of the sect in Najaf and Kerbala. The mausoleum became the object of extreme veneration and it was around the tomb of Saint Fatima that the city developed. The magnificent golden dome of the mausoleum is an embellishment due to Fath Ali Shah, who made her covered with pure gold plates. A walk on the adjacent streets will help to capture the atmosphere. The usual «temple merchants» offer their religious articles - citations of the Koran, briquettes of holy holy land for prayer, chapelets, prayer carpets, etc. See also the beautiful Persian carpets of silk. The most greedy will be tempted, even in the holy land (!), by the delicious soaxes, caramel cans of pistachios and saffron exported around the world.