With 5 million graves spanning 1,000 hectares, Wadi Al-Salam cemetery in the Iraqi city of Najaf, is the world’s largest and old

With 5 million graves spanning 1,000 hectares, Wadi Al-Salam cemetery in the Iraqi city of Najaf, is the world’s largest and oldest graveyard. Many Shiites choose it as their final resting place due to the presence of Imam Ali’s burial site. The cemetery’s popularity surged during the Iran-Iraq and Kuwait wars, the American occupation, and the ISIS insurgency. It includes a section for the “Saraya Salam“ militia, formerly the “Mahdi Army,“ that fought against US forces and ISIS. The gravediggers who make Najaf cemetery operational are often following in their fathers’ footsteps. Still, they dream of a different kind of life for their children, far away from Wadi Al-Salam. What is it like to work in such a cemetery? Learn more about it through the lens of its gravediggers. Sons of the Graveyard / 2019 #Iraq Join Documentary Planet for more! Источник: Documentary Planet