Ashura in Istanbul

​Scenes from the Ashura Commemorations of Zeynebiye (by Alphan Yilmazmaden)

Millions of Shia Muslims are gathering at shrines and mosques for Ashura, which falls on the tenth day of the holy month of Muharram. The festival commemorates the slaying of Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein at the battle of Kerbala, now in southern Iraq, in AD 680.
 
The story of this martyrdom at the Battle of Karbala and its commemoration is of particular importance to Shia Muslims around the world. The battle took place in 680 A.D. when the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad was killed by the forces of the first Umayyad Caliph, Yazid. The residents of the nearby town Kufa began a tradition of mourning as a form of atonement for not coming to the aid of Hossein, which took on religious significance for Shia Muslims. In recent years celebrations of the event have becoming increasingly charged and imbued with sectarian meaning, particularly in sites of active conflict.