The carpets section working under Imam Reza shrine’s Deputy Office of Pilgrim Services is in charge of cleaning the large number of carpets that cover every corner of the shrine. This service is divided into two parts: porticos and courtyards.

“The prayer areas are covered with hand-woven carpets whereas those areas where pilgrims walk are covered with machine-woven ones; in other words, out of an approximately 40,000-square-meter area, 21,600 sqm is covered with hand-woven and 17,500 sqm is covered with machine-woven carpets”, said Seyyed Meghdad Saffarian, executive director of carpets section.

He added that number of pilgrims, climatic conditions and other considerations would determine the extent of carpets services in courtyards.

“In normal days, and during daily prayers, something between 80,000 to 100,000 square meters of courtyards are covered with carpets. This can increase to 205,000 square meters on special occasions”, continued he.

Some 25,000 and 120,000 square meters of carpets are cleansed in porticos and courtyards respectively on a daily basis.

“Repairing warp and woof of hand-woven carpets and removing stains are among other services in the section”, noted Saffarian.

These round-the-clock services are not possible without the active and whole-hearted participation of the people working in the shrine. The carpets section has 65 permanent staff, who are mostly experts in the field.