Iraq's Wadi-al-Salam cemetery echoes 14 centuries of life and death - in pictures

Islamic cemetery in Najaf is often described as the world's biggest

This aerial view shows the Wadi-al-Salam cemetery in Iraq's holy shrine city of Najaf, on February 10, 2023. - Wadi-al-Salam cemetery, often described as the world's biggest, bears silent witness to life and death over 14 centuries. Flowers, photographs and religious banners honour many of the millions buried in the ochre desert sands of the "Valley of Peace", victims of war and disease, accidents and old age. (Photo by Qassem al-KAABI / AFP)

Grave diggers charge about $100 for a grave and a gravestone costs about $200

A vendor sells bottles of rose water outside the cemetery

Flowers, rose water bottles and religious banners are among the items needed during a burial ceremony

Millions have been buried in the cemetery for generations

The graveyard covers an area of 917 hectares, the equivalent of more than 1,700 football fields

There are no maps to guide visitors through the labyrinth, which is also listed as the world's largest burial ground in the Guinness Book of World Records

Visitors are taken around the cemetery in the back of a small vehicle

Worshippers visit the shrine of Imam Ali, the founding figure of Shiite Islam, at the cemetery

Locals bury their dead relatives here because they believe 'Imam Ali will play the role of intercessor for those around him during the Last Judgment'

The shrine of Imam Ali at the cemetery

Worshippers at the shrine of Imam Ali

An expanse of graves

Workers build and design gravestones at the cemetery

The cemetery includes several styles of burials, including lower graves and tower-like graves that reflect status and respect

More than 5,000 victims of Covid-19 are buried here

An expanse of graves

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