The holiday of Aşure began at sundown last night. Please enjoy the post I wrote about Aşure last year.
Sundown today marked the beginning of the Islamic holiday known as Aşure (Ashura), commemorated by both Sunni and Shiʿi Muslims but more more deeply honored by the Shiʿa as the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hüseyin (Husayn). This is the tenth day of the month of Muharrem, or in other words the tenth day of the new Islamic year. Please read some of the general information about the holiday at my Arabic site, and then more detail about its history and significance for Shiʿa at my Persian blog.
Turkish Word a Day 