Pilgrimage Centers of Iran

With the spread of Islam in Iran, the burial tombs of the descendants of the Imams were changed into public pilgrimage centers. This was followed by the building of fine shrines for the great leaders of religion.
One of the manifestations of public interest in and devotion to the philosophy of Imamate was the creation of shrines and the exhibition of the style of architecture of these shrines. The most skillful artists and architects of the time employed their talent in making use of existing facilities for the construction and gilding of religious and pilgrimage centers, with the result that there exist a great number of magnificent shrines throughout the country now.

The Islamic pilgrimage centers of Iran may be divided into two groups:

A. The centers which have a universal as well as an internal pilgrimage importance, such as the magnificent holy shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, and holy shrine of his sister Ma'sumeh in Qom.

B. The centers which have a regional or local pilgrimage importance.
There are many such centers in Iran, the most important are:

- The shrine of Ahmad-ebne-Mussa-ebne Jafar, known as Shah-e-Cheragh, in Shiraz.
- The shrines of Abdol-Azim and Hamzeh-ebne-Mussa-e-Kazem at Rey near Tehran.
- The Mausoleum of Sayed Jalaleddin in Ashraf-ebne Mussa-e-Kazem Astaneh Ashrafieh, Gilan.
- The tomb of the prophet Daniel in Shush.

⁠The shrines of the descendants of the Imams, which in most cases have domes and auditoriums, are visited by the people, especially on the week-ends.