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City in Saladin Governorate, Iraq
Photo: via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Samarra (Arabic:سامَرّاء) is a city in Iraq's Baghdad Belts. In 2007, UNESCO named Samarra one of its World Heritage Sites.
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مسجد سامراء الكبير
Ninth-century mosque that was commissioned in 848 and completed in 851 by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil who reigned (in Samarra) from 847 until 861. Was at one time the largest mosque in the world; its minaret, the Malwiya Tower, is a vast spiralling cone 52 m high and 33 m wide with a spiral ramp. The art and architecture of the mosque was influential; stucco carvings within the mosque in floral and geometric designs represent early Islamic decoration.
مرقد الامامين علي الهادي والحسن العسكري, Marqad al-Imāmayn ‘Alī l-Hādī wa l-Ħassan al-‘Askarī
Contains the mausoleums of the 'Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams, respectively, as well as the shrine of Muhammad al-Mahdi, known as the "Hidden Imam", who is the twelfth and final Imam of the Shia of the Ja'farī Madhhab. This has made it an important pilgrimage centre for Ja'farī Shia Muslims. In addition, Hakimah Khatun and Narjis Khatun, female relatives of the Prophet Mohammed and the Shia Imams, held in high esteem by Shia and Sunni Muslims, are buried there, making this mosque one of the most significant sites of worship for Shia and a venerated location for Sunni Muslims.
قصر العاشق
A historical palace dates back to the Abbasid era, commissioned under the 15th Abbasid caliph Al-Mu'tamid. Construction took place during 877–882 and the palace is a prominent surviving example of the Abbasid architectural style.
Historic mosques commissioned by the 10th Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil in 859.
قصر بلكوارا
قصر البركة
By bus
By rail
National operator Iraqi Railways runs a passenger train from Baghdad once per week, on Fridays.
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