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Iraq
/ Najaf / The Place
On the way
to Najaf, at a distance, a dark line accompanies the almost straight
road to the great city where Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law and
cousin, lies buried. The line of palms signals a great swathe
of rich agricultural land astride the Euphrates on the left. To
the right, desert: a few black tents, two or three high-wailed
khans or caravanserais with no historical importance that I know
of. A sand-storm obliterated the sudden sun-burst effect the golden
dome of Ali can make. On a clear day they say it is visible from
forty miles away. Unlike Kerbela, a place of gardens, Najaf has
the sterner face of a desert city.
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