2-365-833 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The al-Askari Mosque, Samarra, Iraq, c1930s. Originally built in 944, the al-Askari Mosque is the shrine of Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, the 10th and 11th Twelver imams and is one of the holiest sites to Shia Muslims. The golden dome was added in 1905. The dome and the two minarets were destroyed by Sunni insurgent bombings in 2006 and 2007 but were rebuilt, with the shrine re-opening in April 2009. A print from Countries of the World, edited by JA Hammerton, volume IV, The Fleetway House, c1930s.