00:00Having left the ancient city of Babylon earlier today,
00:04we are continuing our adventure around Iraq and driving to the holy city of Karbala.
00:11Millions of Shia Muslims make their way to Karbala each year
00:15to pay their respects to the shrines of Imam Hussain and Abbas.
00:19We feel very lucky to be visiting Karbala a few days before Ashura,
00:24and while I myself am not Muslim, I respect all cultures and religions
00:29and I'm excited to visit this beautiful city.
00:34So guys, we are currently at the main checkpoint to Karbala,
00:38and just as we were going through, like all the other checkpoints have been fine so far,
00:41but they just said that women have to put on a headscarf just going into the city,
00:46so, well, going through the checkpoint from now on, I guess.
00:49So, here we go!
00:59As we are getting ready to go see the holy shrines of Karbala,
01:07I decided I should probably get changed, so I put on a longer skirt
01:11and just like a shirt that covers my arms and my elbows,
01:14and a headscarf as it is required here when you are a woman in Karbala.
01:19So, let's go check it out and see what it's like. Let's go!
01:29These guys are just drinking chai at the side of the road.
01:34We have left our hotel and now we are walking down the main street here in Karbala
01:38towards the holy shrine.
01:40We had to go through another sort of walking checkpoint just to get onto this street,
01:45so the men went through one side and the women went through another.
01:48And it kind of just reminded me of like when you're in the airport
01:51and you walk through and they, you know, just pat you down, check in your bag,
01:55make sure you're not bringing anything that you shouldn't be.
01:59Bye!
02:04Obviously, like I said before, it's definitely more conservative,
02:07but everyone's like super friendly.
02:08Like when I was going through that checkpoint, they were just like,
02:10where are you from? Welcome to Iraq!
02:22Okay, the bad news is that I'm not covered enough to go inside,
02:26so they say I have to wear an abaya and also they want me to wear socks,
02:29so I had to go and buy black socks and I have an abaya now that I need to put on.
02:33As this was my very first time wearing an abaya,
02:36I had to ask a local lady if she could help me to put it on correctly.
02:40Once properly covered, we were given permission to go inside
02:44the Imam Hussein Mosque and Shrine.
02:57The Imam Hussein Mosque
03:20That has to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever been inside in my whole life.
03:23I mean, I can't even really describe how beautiful that was.
03:26Luckily, we were able to film a few clips.
03:29Somebody called somebody and gave us permission to film inside,
03:32so we were able to get a few small clips just to show you guys how beautiful this place really is.
03:38Imam Hussein Mosque
03:53Right now we are visiting a place that is kind of just like a chill-out area between the two shrines.
03:58Everyone's just sitting on the ground, relaxing.
04:01I don't know if you can see around me.
04:03And it's quite an important place.
04:05It's quite busy.
04:06And it is located between the two shrines.
04:08I'm going to show you the other shrine now in a second.
04:11But wow, this place is really busy.
04:14Imam Hussein Mosque
04:36Imam Hussein Mosque
04:45Okay guys, so we're going to taste a drink that is special to Karbala.
04:48It's 1000, so it's like less than a dollar.
04:50It's like 70 cents.
04:51Let's try it.
04:52Vinegar in a drink.
04:53Yay, I love vinegar.
05:01Thank you.
05:02It's so good.
05:03It's huge.
05:05Wow.
05:13Oh, it's actually really tasty.
05:15Is it?
05:16Yeah, you have to try it.
05:17Please, please, please.
05:19Thank you.
05:25Wow, that's really good.
05:27I'm not going to lie.
05:29With the ingredients, I thought it was going to be terrible.
05:31Yeah.
05:32But it's pretty good.
05:33It is.
05:34It's like Jay went to buy a drink and he wouldn't take the money.
05:36And then the guy wouldn't let us pay for our drink either.
05:39We actually already paid and then he just forced us to take all the money back.
05:43Who pays?
05:44That's crazy.
05:54Okay, so we're just here at another restaurant in Karbala
05:57before we set off on our next adventure
05:59as part of our big road trip across southern Iraq.
06:01So we ordered lots of delicious local food,
06:03lots of dal, bread, chicken, and loads of different side dishes.
06:07So we're going to dig in now, get a good feed before we hit the road.
06:11How hungry are you guys?
06:12So hungry.
06:13So hungry.
06:14I ate a small amount of breakfast, but it's now 3.30.
06:17Yeah.
06:18So let's eat this.
06:19It's definitely appetizing.
06:21Wow.
06:22Look at that chunk of beef.
06:23It's huge.
06:27Dougie, Dougie.
06:28Dougie, Dougie.
06:29They told me that a lot of the people in this restaurant that are cooking,
06:32the chefs, are actually women.
06:34So I want to go check it out.
06:35So I'm going back into it.
06:37Oh, it's the green rice.
06:38Yeah.
06:39So good.
06:40So delicious.
06:41This man is cooking the meat over here.
06:43It's chicken?
06:44Yeah.
06:45So.
06:50So we were just about to leave Karbala and head to our next destination,
06:53but we are making one last stop at this local,
06:56I guess you could say candy store.
06:57It's kind of like a sweet dessert store.
06:59And apparently this type of food, candy, dessert, is very traditional to Karbala.
07:06So apparently it would be shameful for us to leave this region,
07:09this city, without going inside and checking it out.
07:11So let's go.
07:21Oh, it's super hot.
07:23So apparently it translates to oily.
07:25And it looks pretty oily.
07:27It's got coconut flakes on top.
07:30There's a lot of sugar.
07:32A lot of sugar.
07:36Really good.
07:39It tastes like something I'm familiar with, but I can't think of what.
07:42It's really chewy, really gooey.
07:45So much sugar.
07:51Jay works here now.
07:53How much?
07:55Okay, so they have more over here as well.
07:58It's kind of like pistachio on top.
08:02Look how beautiful this is.
08:07Okay, they say I can taste it.
08:09Thank you.
08:12Let me try this.
08:14Speak English?
08:15Yes.
08:20What's your name?
08:22Janet.
08:24Nice to meet you.
08:28This is yummy.
08:29I think I prefer the other one, but this is pretty good as well.
08:38But chewy.
08:39Ready?
08:40Open your mouth.
08:42That was so easy.
08:44I just want to show you guys how big these trays are.
08:47Look at this.
08:49It is massive.
08:51Wait.
08:52Hold it up and look at the camera again.
08:57Oh, it's so heavy.
09:02Say hello.
09:04What is your name?
09:13Thank you.
09:15After an incredible 24 hours in Karbala,
09:17checking out the holy shrine, meeting the local people,
09:20we hit the road and headed south to the Iraqi marshes.
