Monthly Photos
Photos taken by ILCAA staff and associates are posted here once a month; most of them are taken during their field research in Asia and Africa.
(The copyright belongs to the photographers.)
Imam Riza’s Footprints
Mashhad, a major city in the northeast region of Iran, has a shrine dedicated to Imam Riza (d. 818). He was a seventh-generation descendant of Imam ʿAli, a son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. The shrine attracts many Twelver Shiʿite pigrims from every corner of the world, including Iran. Qadamgah, a city whose name means “a place of footprints,” is on a pilgrimage route to the shrine. This sacred site, 100 kilometers away from Mashhad, preserves "footprints" that are said to be those of Imam Riza. Praying for his blessings, pilgrims often tie votive strings to the latticework fence around the “footprints” as a sign of devotion.
January 12, 2024
Qadamgah , The Islamic Republic of Iran
Photograph by Yui KANDA
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