When traveler Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Husseini who also known as "al-Manshi al-Baghdadi" visited the holy city of Karbala in 1822 Hijri, to learn about the aspects of life in it and to know the villages and the countryside stretching along the city.
He said: "While I was on my way to the countryside of Karbala, I saw five fortresses on the road linking between Baghdad and the city center of Karbala, the first fortress was named (Khan Al-Kahiah), which is located at five acres away from Baghdad, and the second one was named (Khan Murad) which is four acres from it, while the third was named (Khan Al-Bir) or (Khan al-Nisf) for 6 acres away. The fourth is (Khan al-Mazaraqji) which is 8 acres away and (Khan al-Musayyib) that lies for 10 acres along from the Euphrates River".
al-Manshi has pointed to the existence of about 400 houses along the road, in addition to a large bridge connecting the Euphrates River's banks, which is used by the villagers as a means of crossing between the two banks. The bridge stretches for 5 acres.
He also described the Husseiniya river by saying: "It was a branch from the Euphrates to be a river that enters Karbala by the name (Al-Husseiniya) and was surrounded by massive areas of orchards that was characterized by their rich products of palm trees." concluding his journey by this testimony "When I arrived in Karbala, I saw the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him), it had on its sides a number of houses and small shops with narrow alleys".
Source:
The City of Hussein "pbuh" - The history of Karbala: by Mohammed Hassan al-Kiladar, The 7th Vol. series of publications by The Karbala Center for Studies and Research.
