ABSTRACT
The local and international shrines It is in the older part of Shiraz, where the less economically advanced people live, that the main shrines and the famous mosques (both old and new) are located. The Shrine of SeYYld Mir-Ahmad, or Shah-i chiragh, are the main shrines in Shiraz, and are visited by pilgrims of various classes and rural and urban settings. The other public religious arena available to women includes the local shrines and several mosques. One local shrine is Astaneh where the saint Seyyld-Alaidin-Husain is believed to be buried. It is believed that he is a relative of SeyyId Mir-Ahmad and his brother Imam Reza, the former buried in Shiraz and the latter in the northern city Mashhad. Each shrine has its own visitation prayer. The prayer of visitation, known as the ziyarat-Namah, often hangs at the shrine entrance and may be recited by those who can read the holy text. The other public religious house is takyeh, where a spiritually inspired person is believed to be buried. In these religious centres mourning ceremonies and vows are performed and initiated. Some private houses are also considered particularly spiritual, because various signs indicate that visitors have experienced miracles (mojizih) there. There are several other religious houses that are not so popular among the upper middle-class women, who generally prefer to travel to distant shrines and mosques such as the prominent mosque in Qum, the shrine of Zeiynab in Syria, or to Mecca.76 On average, a woman from a religiously oriented busi-
ness family performs 1 to 3 pilgrimages to Mecca during her lifetime, in addition to several yearly visits to local shrines and holy mosques.
