West of the shrine, Wadi al-Salaam unrolls across the desert as far as the eye can see — an entire city of the dead, denser and larger than the city of the living. Burial here is regarded as a guarantee of safe passage in the afterlife, so Shia families from Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and beyond bring their dead to Najaf to be interred. The cemetery has been in use for over fourteen centuries.
Walking the lanes between the tombs is a strange experience. Some are simple brick mounds; others are domed mausolea the size of small mosques, painted pink, turquoise or pale green, and a few display photographs of the dead — turbaned graybeards, young men with proud moustaches and quiffed hair. Funerals pass through constantly. Go at first light or late afternoon when the heat eases and the colour of the brick warms.