Skip to content
Mixroutes
Karbala
City in Karbala Governorate, Iraq

Karbala

Karbala is a major city in Iraq, and the capital of Karbala Governorate.

Plan a trip to Karbala→From Baghdad

With a population of around 800,000 people in 2024, Karbala is the second-largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. With presence of the Imam Husayn and Al-Abbas Shrines, Karbala is a profoundly holy city in Shia Islam. It is one of the main political, spiritual, and cultural hubs of Shia Islam. The city was the location of the Battle of Karbala, where Husayn, grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the third Shia Imam, was massacred alongside most of his family by the forces of the Umayyad caliph Yazid in 680 CE. Karbala went on to become an important center of pilgrimage. After the Siege of Baghdad in 1258, Karbala came under the control of the Mongol Empire led by Hulegu Khan. The city continued to be under multiple successive empires.

Get in

Getting to Karbala

Most travelers enter the city by bus or by car as the city does not yet have a functioning airport. Due to its religious importance, cities all across Iraq has regular bus services. The entrance to the city is well protected and check points are working hard on every single car that gets into the city. There are one or two trains each week from Baghdad and Basra. Extra trains are available on special occasions.

  1. 01
    Karbala
  2. 02
    Karbala International Airport

    Future airport dedicated to pilgrims.

See

Worth seeing

There are also a lot of religious places around the Holy Shrines of Imam Hussen and Abu Al-fadhl Al-Abbas.

  1. 01
    Imam Hussein Holy Shrine

    One of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, it contatins the grave of Hussein ibn Ali, grandson of the prophet Muhammad.

  2. 02
    Al Abbas Mosque

    The mausoleum of ‘Abbās ibn ‘Alī, located across from the Imām Husayn Mosque.

  3. 03
    Al-Hurr ibn Yazid Al-Tamimi Mosque

    Shrine dedicated to Al-Hurr ibn Yazid Al-Tamimi.

  4. 04
    Imam Ali's Dropper Shrine

    A small spring, said to have been brought to life by Imam Ali, and a mosque.

  5. 05
    Al-Aqiser

    An archeological site in Ayn al-Tamr near Karbala that has been described as the oldest eastern Christian Church.

  6. 06
    Simeon's Palace

    Ruins of a palace dating back to the pre-Islamic period.

Do

Things to do

Visit the Imam Husayn & Abbas shrine.

Eat

Where to eat

The restaurants are spread all around the city, especially downtown, and you can find whatever you desire of halal food at suitable prices.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.