Memories of Akbar Hashemi - February 10, 2001 - Report by Mohsen Mehr Ali Zadeh, the then Governor of Khorasan, and His Assistants

Visit to the Dar al-Wilayah Project of the Imam Reza Shrine and Detailed Explanations by Sheikh Abbas Vaez Tabasi

Report by Mohsen Mehr Ali Zadeh, the then Governor of Khorasan, and His Assistants

Meeting with Mayors of Mashhad Regions

Full Text of the Daily Notes:

Before noon, we visited the Dar al-Wilayah project in the basement. Mr. Vaez Tabasi also joined us. A pathway has been constructed from the basement leading to an underground chamber, which is approximately 20 meters long and leads to another chamber measuring eight meters in length and seven meters in width. The old chamber surrounds the shrine, and the old steel shrine was lowered from its previous position by cutting the ceiling of the chamber. We performed a special pilgrimage from within the chamber.

Mr. Tabasi mentioned that Ayatollah Khamenei had not attended the pilgrimage a few days prior because the shrine had not yet been lowered, as it was thought that it might be disrespectful to the tomb without the shrine present. We exited the area, and the guards expected us to enter the chamber, but no one had been taken inside yet; the program was extraordinarily engaging.

We returned to the Dar al-Diyaafah. Mr. Mohsen Mehr Ali Zadeh, the governor of Khorasan, and his assistants arrived. They provided a report on the province's affairs and the ongoing projects, which include dams, roads, railways, mines, and industries that had commenced during my tenure. No significant new projects have been added in recent years.

In the evening, the mayors of the Mashhad regions came to meet with us. They expressed concerns about the municipal budget, stating it is insufficient for expenses. This year, a budget of 35 billion tomans has been projected, but only 20 billion tomans have been collected so far. They criticized the Ministry of Interior for not approving their revenue-generating proposals, which include a tax on gasoline consumption in Mashhad and similar measures. They estimate the population of Mashhad to be over three million, with the number of pilgrims per year reaching 12 million.

At night, we went to the holy shrine with the guards and, together with Mr. Vaez Tabasi, washed the new stone of the shrine with rosewater and cleaned the new shrine that was in the process of being installed. The large stone, over one meter high, has been placed in place of the old stone. After us, the accompanying women also performed their pilgrimage.