[ noun ] a city of central Iraq to the south of Baghdad; a holy city for Shiite Muslims because it is the site of the tomb of Mohammed's grandson who was killed there in 680 <noun.location>
The $120-million restoration program also calls for the conservation of other small palaces in the western desert, not far from the Shiite Moslem shrines at Karbala and Najaf 100 miles south of Baghdad, the capital.
Moslem Shiites, who form the vast majority of Iran's population, consider Karbala their holiest shrine after Mecca because the founder of their sect, Hussein is buried there.