By Aliyu Machika, who was in Iran

Iran is famous for its many tombs that litter the landscape. Many of these structures, containing the remnants of some prominent personalities, most of them considered holy or martyrs. Many still are said to contain the remains of descendents of the prophet of islam, Muhammad (SAW). But in this country once known as Persia, tombs here apart from their religious connotation are also artistic structure that holds the secrets of the ancients.

Origin
Tombs are enclosed structures in which the dead are buried to demonstrate their prominence in life or the symbolic importance of their death. The most famous of tombs are probably those that hold the mummies of the pharaohs in Egypt. But the practice of burying the dead in elaborate structures has spread all over the world, from India to Greece.
In Iran where several religious leaders are buried of various sizes some as small as a couple of square feets, others large enough to contain vast worship places and even libraries.
To the average Iranian, tombs are held in the highest esteems as they have huge cultural significance. They are considered as shrines to Iranian people who use them as places for seeking spiritual closeness, seeking the blessings of Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) because there are many of his descendents who lived and died in Iran and their grave sites are now Shrines visited by thousands of both Iranians and other expatriate pilgrims and even tourists from across the globe. Beside these, such sites gives solace to anybody especially when one find himself in a state of personal dilemma or intra-personal disagreement.

Culture of relating to the dead
Beside this, Iranian people have the culture of relating with their dead ones, especially the living members of a particular family relating with the dead members. Here, families go to different shrines or grave yards where their loved ones are buried to pray for them. And, not just prayer, they usually go during weekends which in Iran are Thursday s and Fridays but precisely Fridays. They spend the whole day there surrounding the grave yard. They eat and drink and pray for the repose of the soul of their lost ones. This, according to them, gives them the feeling that there family members who died are still part of them.
A Nigerian who lived in Iran for many years explained that, “I lived close to an Iranian family who lost their father and the widow was left with two kids behind. Whenever there is a children’s quarrel between the two kids, the one that feels cheated will always say to the other that, whenever they visit their father, he is going to report him to their father. And according to the narrator, the guilty will immediately ask for forgiveness so that he will not be reported. This, he said, has given the children the belief that their father is still somewhat with them even though they don’t see him. This also further gives the family ties more concrete base and attachment.”

The many tombs of Iran
The Iranians revel so much in the spiritual and cultural significance of their tombs that regular pilgrimages are held to honour the dead. This is also an avenue for tourism and cultural exchange as many people come from different parts of the world to honours the dead buried within this embellished chambers.
One of such, the Imam Reza Shrine in Qum has a huge library with many volumes of classic text. Hundred visit the libraries for research and scholarship.

How Imam Reza’ tomb transformed a small village
When the late Imam (AS) was buried in the year 203 A.H. in Mashhad, the city began to develop and Sanabd village become a large city and after a while was called "Mashhado'Reza (AS). And this was the time when the major centre (current Mashhad) was formed.
The city of Mashhad came into existence when Imam Reza (A.S.), the eighth Shi'ite Imam, after his martyrdom at the hands of Ma'mun, the Abbasid caliph (born. 786 A.D., ruled. 813-833 A.D.); on the last day of the month of Safar 203 A.H. / 5 September 818 A.D. He was buried in the palace of Humaid bin Qahtabah beside the grave of Harun al-Rashid. At present Mashhad is the second largest city in Islamic Republic of Iran after Tehran.
After this event, the mausoleum of Imam Reza (A.S.) became the pilgrimage centre of the Shi'ites and the lovers of the decedents of the Prophet (SAW). Mashhad literally means a place where a martyr has been buried.
By the end of the third century Hijrah, a dome was built on the grave of Imam Reza (A.S.) and many buildings and bazaars sprang around the shrine. Followers of the Ahlul-Bayt (AS), from various parts of the world started visiting Mashhad for pilgrimage. In 383 A.H. / 993 A.D., Sebuktigin, the Ghaznevid sultan devastated Mashhad and stopped the pilgrims from visiting the tomb of Imam Reza (A.S.). But in 400 A.H./ 1009 A.D., Mahmud of Ghazni (born 971, ruled, 998-1030 A.D.,) started the expansion and renovation of the holy shrine and built many fortifications around the city.
The shrine was decorated with fine marbles, quality wooden and stucco works and a burial chamber was built on the grave of Imam Reza (A.S.).Ghazni’s son Masud further built a wall around the holy shrine and further beautified the holy shrine. Again, it was said that during the reign of Sultan Sanjar whose son was miraculous healed of a serious disease in the tomb of Imam Reza (A.S.) renovated the sanctuary and added new buildings within its precincts. Further development, expansion and beautification of the shrine continued over time and during the different kings that ruled the Persian Empire.

Imam Khomeini shrine in Tehran
Another important shrine pilgrims frequently visit during their stay in the country is the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini (RA), the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran which is situated in the southern part of Tehran city. An important feature of the tomb is the presence of Bahashte Zahra, i.e. the grave yard where the bodies of martyrs (those who died during the Khomeini’s struggle and those who died protecting the country during the Iraq war of Iran under Saddam Hussein) 
Another important feature at the Imam Khoneini shrine is the four towers that surrounded the shrine. There towers are located in four sides of the mausoleum and are 91 meters each in height. The measurement was not by mistake or chosen at random but it’s in memorandum of Imam Khomeini's age. The great Imam died at the age of 91 and so the towers are representation of his age in this world.
There are many other tombs spread all over Iran, many of them architectural master pieces that demonstrate how Iranians honour their dead. Many who visit these sites are awed by the reverence in which these sites are held and their cultural significance cannot be overemphasised.