The holy shrine of Fatima Masoumeh is one of the most important religious places in Iran, located in Qom.

Fatima Masumeh, the sister of Imam Reza, the eighth Shiite Imam, passed away on her travel to Iran once visiting her brother, she was buried in Qom.

The holy shrine of Fatima Masoumeh is one of the most important religious places in Iran, located in Qom. Masoumeh is the sister of Imam Reza, the 8th Shiite Imam, who passed away on her way to visit her brother. In the 9th century, Lady Fatima Masumeh and some of Imam Reza’s followers started a journey to Khorasan, where Imam Reza was spending his days in exile. On the road, Lady Masumeh got sick and passed away in Qom in a place known as Balan Garden.

In different eras, different constructs were built over the grave of Lady Fatima Masumeh, which all are a proof of the Iranian’s devotion to the descendants of the Prophet of Islam. When the Seljuq kings had the throne, Amir Abulfazl Araghi, made a domed mausoleum that was decorated with stucco and tile works.

The dome was about 14 meters tall. The shrine is filled with magnificent tiles and inscriptions and has an area of about 13.527 m2. It includes sections such as courtyard, iwan, mosque, school and women section.

The main courtyard of the place is known as Atigh and the Iwan of the courtyard was built at the time of Shah Ismail during Safavid Empire and later it was completed by his daughter. The Eastern and Western sections of the place, however, were added by the order of Fath Ali Shah, the second Qajar King. There are 14 halls (iwan) in this place, representing the 14 Shiite Imams, which are lavishly decorated with the best form of tile work and each one has a name

Feyzieh School on the northern part of the courtyard is a four-Iwan mosque with about 200 rooms (Hojreh) and it was built at the time of Safavid Kings, although it was completed in the Qajar’s Era when the southern Iwan was built. Shah Abbas the Second, Shah Soleyman (Solomon), Shah Safi and Shah Sultan Hossein of Safavid era and Fath Ali Shah and Mohammad Shah of Qajar dynasty were all buried here.

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Although various Iranian folks originating from different parts of the country are living in this province, the common language is Farsi. Geographically, the province is almost entirely surrounded by mountains including Mount Binalud as the highest point. The province enjoys a dry and semi-arid climate but in the mountainous areas, winters and summers are cold and mild, respectively though, in low-altitude regions, summer is hot and dry.

The Grand Khorasan used to cover south of the Amu Darya and large parts of the current Central Asia countries. During the Sassanid Dynasty (224-651 A.D.), Khorasan was ruled by the army chief Spahbed. After the advent of Islam, this land contained four main cities including Nishabur, Marv, Herat, and Balkh, each of which was the center of Grand Khorasan in different eras.

Al-Ma’mun, the Abbasid Caliph, appointed Tahir ibn Ḥusayn as the governor of Khorasan but in less than a year, Tahir announced independence from Caliph and transferred the capital of Grand Khorasan from Marv to Nishabur, ending the absolute dependency of Iran on the Arab Caliphs. During the Samanid Dynasty (819-999), Khorasan and Mā warāʼ al-Nahr (Transoxiana) were among the brightest regions in the history of Iran because of the flourishment of science, literature, and Persian language.

When the Turks of Ghaznavid Dynasty (977-1186) came to the throne and took ruling of the area, one of the most important incidents of the region’s history namely the division of the Grand Khorasan’s land happened. As a result, a great section of the province with the centrality of Ghazni (Afghanistan) remained under the rule of Ghaznavid, while the rest of it was governed by the Seljuk Dynasty (1037-1194).

In the aftermath of the Mongol invasion in 1219, Tamerlane (reign: 1370-1405) from Samarkand attacked Khorasan for four times. Later, Grand Khorasan became a part of the Safavid Dynasty’s (1501-1736) territory and finally, Nader Shah (reign: 1736-1747) chose Mashhad as capital during the Afsharid Dynasty (1736-1796). After his death, Khorasan came under the control of Afghan commanders but Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar (reign: 1796-1797) took its full control without war and bloodshed and this was kept by his successors during the Qajar Dynasty (1796-1925).

The biggest and most glorious mausoleum of Iran is the holy shrine of the Shiite eighth Imam, Imam Reza (peace be upon Him) located in Mashhad city. Millions of both local and foreign pilgrims and tourists travel to Mashhad every year to visit His shrine.

In addition to the magnificent complex of Astan Quds Razavi (including the Imam Reza holy shrine, Goharshad Mosque, Golden Arch, Allahverdi Khan Portico, Shah Mosque and Bathhouse, and Anthropology Museum), some other tourist attractions of Razavi Khorasan include Ancient Windmills of Nashtifan, Robat-e Sharaf Caravanserai, Tombs of Ferdousi, Nadir Shah Afshar, Farid al-Din Attar, Omar Khayyam, and Kamal-ol-Molk.

Gonabad Qanat is also a historical attraction inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List.

Some handicrafts of the province include carving on stone, pottery, turquoise stone, silk weaving, and Barak Bafi. The souvenirs of the province are saffron, barberry, pomegranate, spices, perfumes, different types of Nabat (a kind of candy), prayer rug, rings, jewels, and carpet. Shashlik, Shol-e, Eshkaneh, Dizzi Sangi and Balghur Aash are among the local foods. Finally, some of the notable figures of Mashhad are Ferdowsi Tosi (epic poet), Farid al-Din Attar (mystic and poet), Omar Khayyam (poet), Kamal-ol-Molk (painter), Jaber-e bin Hayyan (alchemist, mathematician), Mohammad-Taqi Bahar (poet), Dr. Ali Shariati (sociologist), and Mohammad Reza Shajarian (classic music singer).

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