The Giant Cemetery of Wadi al-Salam - The Valley of Peace

Wadi Us-Salaam, which means "Valley of Peace", is an Islamic cemetery located in the holy city of An-Najaf in Iraq. The cemetery covers an area of 601.16 hectares, millions of people are buried here, which makes it the largest cemetery in the world. The city of An-Najaf itself is one of the largest cities in Iraq with a population of almost 600,000 people. But the neighboring "city of the dead" harbors the bodies of millions of people and stretches for 10 km along the valley. Wadi Us Salaam is also the only cemetery in the world where burials have continued uninterrupted for over 1,400 years.

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1. This cemetery is very important for the Shiites, they believe that the souls of all believing men and women rest here, regardless of where their bodies are buried. Many prophets, kings, princes and sultans rest in this cemetery, including Prophet Hud, Prophet Salih, and Prince Ali Ibn Abu Talib.

2. On Wadi Us-Salaam there are the graves of many thinkers, scientists and major political figures, as well as ordinary Muslims from many countries - Iraq, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Lebanon. Many Shiites at all costs want to be here after death.

3. More than five million people have already been buried there in an area of six square kilometers. If you simply divide the area of the cemetery by the number of burials, you get about 1.2 square meters per person. But there are still roads, passages, fences, buildings and large mausoleums. So on average, the grave will have less than 1 square meter. That is, burials are made almost close - side by side.

4. Gravestones in the cemetery are made of burnt bricks and plaster. Among the graves you can find huge family crypts built by local rich people. Such crypts are crowned with domes. There are also underground crypts to which stairs lead. The graves of the 1930s and 40s have their own styles - they rise to 3 meters and have rounded tops that are visible from afar.

5. During the 2003 Iraq War, armed Iraqi army fighters often used this cemetery to ambush and attack enemy troops. Americans are forbidden to enter here, because. there are too many winding streets and underground mausoleums. Therefore, the Iraqis attacked the enemy unexpectedly, and then easily hid among the graves, because they know these places like the back of their hand.

6. If the rebels were hiding on the narrow paths among the tombs, the military mercilessly drove right over the graves with bulldozers. To this day, heaps of mutilated fences remain lying by the side of the road.

7. During its invasion of Iraq in 2003, as well as during the occupation, the American army did not hesitate to launch missile strikes on both the living and the dead - the world's largest cemetery felt the US desire to give Iraq democracy.

8. The brutality that has engulfed Iraq since 2003 has led to the expansion of the cemetery (up to about 40%). Every year since 2004, the cemetery has been growing, because Iraq is constantly at war - first with the Americans, then conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis began, and finally, clashes between the rebels and the Iraqi army in 2008. Thank God, in recent years, the rate of burials here has noticeably decreased.

9. In June 2010, UNESCO decided to include the Wadi Us-Salaam cemetery near the holy city of An-Najaf for Muslims throughout the world in the World Heritage Fund. To this end, a UNESCO delegation visited Iraq, where this issue was discussed for two weeks.

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