Pilgrims bring boom times for Iraqi gem traders

Najaf : Every time Mohammed al-Ghoraifi visits Najaf he returns with another precious stone on his finger. Like for many pilgrims visiting the Iraqi Shiite holy city, buying a gemstone ring is part and parcel of the experience.

Ghoraifi, sporting two weighty rings on the right hand and a third on the left on his latest visit, said they formed only a modest part of his collection.

The collection may have cost him a small fortune, but "the stones have enormous value, whatever the cost", said the 60-year-old pilgrim from Bahrain, wearing a white robe and bedouin scarf.

Ghoraifi's passion for gemstone rings from Najaf, set with agate stones, rubies or turquoise, is shared by most of the pilgrims, primarily from Iran, who visit the city to pray at Imam Ali's shrine.

Customers come from "Saudi Arabia, Iran, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Lebanon..." said shopkeeper Fayez Abu Ghoneim, 45.

In a city where several family businesses are renowned for the size and cut of their gemstones, pilgrims amble into Abu Ghoneim's shop right after visiting the mausoleum of Prophet Mohamed's son-in-law.

"Many of them buy a ring or a rosary as a souvenir of their pilgrimage for family or friends back home," said Abu Ghoneim.