MESHED-ALI, i.e., the shrine of the “martyr” Ali, is a town of Asiatic Turkey, province of Baghdad, 50 miles south of Kerbela, close to the ruins of Kufa, and 2 miles west of the Hindiye branch of the Euphrates, the reputed burial-place of the caliph Ali. It stands on the east scarp of the Syrian desert, and is enclosed by nearly square brick walls flanked by massive round towers dating from the time of the caliphs. Under the gilded dome of the great mosque, which occupies the centre of the town, is the shrine of Ali, which is held by the Shfa as at least as holy as the Kaaba itself. Any Moslem buried within sight of the dome being certain of salvation, large numbers of bodies are yearly sent from all parts for interment here. Besides the mosque with its richly decorated façade, the only noteworthy building is a good bazaar supplied from Baghdad and Basra. The town itself, which Lady Anne Blunt describes as “an ideal Eastern city, standing in an absolute desert, and bare of all surroundings but its tombs,” consists of narrow gloomy streets lined by houses closely packed together. The locality is properly named Najaf, and gives its name to the neighbouring lake, a large depression filled by an eruption of the river, and ranging from 6 to 20 feet in depth. The accumulated treasures of the shrine were carried off by the Wahhâbites when they captured this place early in the present century. The population is estimated at 7000, including several Indian Mohammedans under the protection of the British resident at Baghdad.

The aspect of the shrine in the 14th century is described by Ibn Batuta, i. 414 sq. A plan of the town and description of its splendour before the Wahhâbites pillaged it is given by Niebuhr. See also Ibn Jubair, p. 214; P. Teixeira, Itin., cap. iv.