کربلا

Also known as Kerbela

شهری در استان کربلا، عراق

AI overview

Karbala is a major city in central Iraq with a population of about 691,100 people, making it the second largest city in the region after Baghdad. It holds deep significance as one of the primary spiritual, political, and cultural centers of Shi'a Islam.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Weather now

cached 2026-10-20 00:10 UTC

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via Open-Meteo

Place details

Locality: كربلاء
Region: محافظة كربلاء
Country: العراق
Population: 1,218,732
Timezone: Asia/Baghdad

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

51US AQIModerate

PM2.5: 8.6 µg/m³
PM10: 13.1 µg/m³

As of 2026-10-20 03:00 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Settlement.name: Karbala
Settlement.unit_pref: Metric
Settlement.area_total_km2: 42.4
Settlement.elevation_m: 28
Settlement.population_rank: 7th in Iraq
Settlement.population_est: 711530
Settlement.pop_est_as_of: 2018
Settlement.mapframe: yes
Settlement.mapframe zoom: 11
Settlement.mapframe wikidata: yes
Settlement.population_demonym: Karbalaei
Settlement.timezone1: Arabian Standard Time
Settlement.utc_offset1: +3
Settlement.timezone1_DST: No DST
Settlement.utc_offset_DST: +3
Settlement.postal_code_type: Postal code
Settlement.postal_code: 10001 to 10090
Settlement.official_name: Mayoralty of Karbala

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: big city
Official name: كربلاء
Country: Iraq
Located in: Karbala Governorate
Population: 690100
Elevation: 28
Capital of: Karbala Governorate
Image: Kerbela Hussein Moschee.jpg

Show 13 more facts

twinned administrative body: Shahr-e Kord
Commons category: Karbala
topic's main category: Category:Karbala
described by source: Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia
category of associated people: Category:People from Karbala
category for people who died here: Category:Deaths in Karbala
category for people born here: Category:Births in Karbala
postal code: 56001
Commons gallery: كربلاء
streaming media URL: balticlivecam.com/cameras/iraq/karbala/karbala-qibla
P8168: Carl Gussenbauer
native label: كربلاء
P12749: November 7

Sources (7)

via Wikidata · CC0

Travel guide

Understand

Karbala is one of the holiest cities in Shi'a Islam. In the Battle of Karbala, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Husayn was slain. To pay respects to the martyr Husayn, Shi'a Muslims visit the Imam Husayn Shrine, the biggest tourist attraction in Karbala, every year during a pilgrimage called Arbaeen.

Get in

Most travelers enter the city by bus or by car as the city does not yet have a functioning airport. Due to its religious importance, cities all across Iraq has regular bus services. The entrance to the city is well protected and check points are working hard on every single car that gets into the city. There are one or two trains each week from Baghdad and Basra. Extra trains are available on special occasions.

The Downtown Area is closed off and the entry of vehicles into the area of 1.5 km around the holy shrines is forbidden except for security, the shrines' personnel and residents. Anyone else who wants to get in must put their car in a parking and get in either via the holy shrine buses or on foot.