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When I got to Shiraz I noticed that there were black flags and banners draped throughout the bazaar and in the mosques.
Iran 1999 - Part Three: Shiraz & Tehran
Dougburnett2003-11-22 17:21:40
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When I got to Shiraz I noticed that there were black flags and banners draped throughout the bazaar and in the mosques. I inquired and was told that they were in mourning for Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed in 680.
My second night as I was lying in my room, I heard the sound of chanting coming from the street. I sat up wondering what was going on. The evening call to prayers was over - what could it be? I grabbed my jacket and decided to find out.
In the street I saw a group of men marching in two lines. They were dressed all in black and carried a little device I later learned was called a shallagh. It had a short wooden handle and a cluster of light metal chains attached to one end.
The men marched along and every 8 or 10 steps they turned to face each other. As they did they chanted, "Hussein, Hussein" and at the same time swung the shallagh over their shoulder hitting their backs. Eight paces forward, face the center and swing the shallagh - over and over again.
There must have been several hundred men in the procession - slowly they filed past me. Standing there alone in the darkened street, a shiver ran though me. Somehow I found the whole thing a little frightening. There was something going on here I didn't understand. This intense religious feeling was alien to me. I also found it a singular moment and felt privileged to have witnessed it. Whenever I think of Iran, I remember that night.
Shiraz, Friday April 16
We took off early for Shiraz and for the first time left the desert. We climbed into rolling hills where there were little streams and wild flowers along the road. Before long we stopped in a small town - I forget the name - to visit another mosque. We found the door locked and went looking for someone to let us in. Moghadam asked a kid in the street and he directed us to a nearby
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See photographs from:
Iran Gallery
