A 15-minute walk from the Iraqi border in the west Iranian town of Mehran, three young clerics are hard at work polishing the shoes of pilgrims.
Further down the road another cleric stands on a chair holding a Quran over the heads of passing crowds, blessing them as they march in the thousands towards the shrine of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) in Karbala, central Iraq.
A tailor is also working diligently, sewing up torn clothes for free.
And if anyone needs a money pouch, he can rustle one up from scratch in a matter of minutes.
These volunteers have been staying in Mehran for nearly two weeks, offering their services to the pilgrims as they walk towards the crossing.
Some 1.8 million Iranians have been given Iraqi visas to make the pilgrimage to Karbala for the holy festival of Arbaeen this year — and many will pass on foot through the border point at Mehran.
Arbaeen, which this year falls on October 30, marks 40 days after the martyrdom in 680 of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS), grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who refused to accept the leadership of the "usurper" caliph Yazid and was massacred along with his followers at Karbala.
Most of the devout walk all or part of the way to the shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam.
But some forego the march to the shrine, and instead stop in Mehran for days or weeks to serve the pilgrims.