Qaziklî

General Information

Also Known As

Qaziqli shrine, Qaziklî shrine, Qazikli Shrine, Qazaqlî, قازقلي

Type

Ziyareta

Nahiya (Subdistrict)

Şiyê

Village or Nearby Villages

Baziya

Religious Affiliation

Muslim

Qaziklî is a shrine of Baziya in the Şiyê sub-district.

Map and Location

Coordinates: 36.454552, 36.639179

Source: https://akmckeever.substack.com/

Physical & Landscape Features

The shrine stands on the peak of Mount Qaziklî, whose summit is covered with pine trees. It is a small square room in the middle of an old archaeological cemetery that contains Greek ruins.1 The mountain overlooks the Amuq plain to the west and the Cûmê plains and Jindires to the south, and its pine woods serve the people of the area as a summering and picnicking place. Frankish-era remains also surround the shrine.4

Dedicated Figure & Historical Roots

The TirejAfrin survey of the region's shrines links the shrine's name to Christian ascetic practice. It explains that qaziq means pole or pillar in Turkish and Kurdish, and that the suffix lî marks belonging, giving the sense of a pillar-dweller or stylite. The survey recalls that the Stylites were Christian ascetics who lived and prayed on top of pillars, the best known being Simeon Stylites at the Castle of Saint Simeon, and that this form of worship lasted in the region until the fifteenth century. On that basis the survey considers it most likely that the shrine and its name are tied to a stylite monk who worshipped on a pillar and was buried at the site.2

The date of the shrine and its builder are unknown, and its honouring has been handed down from fathers and grandfathers, generation after generation. Its sanctity rests on the belief that it belongs to one of the saints and the righteous, who is either buried there or left one of his signs at the site, such as a drop of blood.5

Ritual Practices & Beliefs

Local families commonly name their children after the shrine.3

A sick visitor offers a sacrifice near the shrine, recites verses of the Quran, asks the martyr buried there for help against the illness, and wipes his head or forehead with the green cloth wrapped around the coffin.6 Others come hoping to untie knots and spells, to resolve stubborn personal and family problems, and to fulfil wishes, by tying pieces of cloth to the building or at its entrance. On Fridays in particular the place crowds with visitors from the surrounding villages bringing chickens, sheep, or strips of cloth.7 Religious and social custom forbids harming shrines or cutting the trees planted beside them. A well-known story in the area tells of a man who cut down a shrine's tree and went blind before reaching his house, so the trees instead dry out with the passage of time and their branches fall to the ground and decay with no one approaching them.8

Bibliography

References

  1. TirejAfrin, "Major Shrines in the Efrîn Region," https://www.tirejafrin.com/site/mazarat.htm. Arabic quote: "تقع زيارة (قازقلي) على قمة جبل قازقلي المشهور. قمة الجبل مغطاة بأشجار الصنوبر. أما الزيارة فهي عبارة عن غرفة صغيرة مربعة الشكل وسط مقبرة أثرية قديمة وآثار اغريقية." English translation: "The shrine of Qaziklî sits on the peak of the well-known Mount Qaziklî. The summit of the mountain is covered with pine trees. The shrine is a small square room in the middle of an ancient archaeological cemetery containing Greek ruins." ↩

  2. TirejAfrin, "Major Shrines." Arabic quote: "وحول اسم المزار، فإن ( قازق ) تعني العمود بالتركية والكردية و لي لاحقة تركية بمعنى العائدية أو صاحب الشيء، والمعنى كاملاً ( عمودي )، والعموديون جماعة من الرهبان المسيحيين، كانوا يتعبدون على الأعمدة، وأولهم سمعان العمودي في قلعة سمعان الشهيرة. والاحتمال الغالب أن يكون للمزار واسمه علاقة براهب عمودي، كان يتعبد على عموده ودفن هناك." English translation: "Regarding the shrine's name, qaziq means pole or pillar in Turkish and Kurdish, and lî is a suffix meaning belonging, so the full meaning is 'pillar-dweller.' The Stylites were a group of Christian monks who worshipped on pillars, the first of them being Simeon the Stylite at the famous Castle of Saint Simeon. This form of worship existed in the region until the fifteenth century AD. The most likely possibility is that the shrine and its name relate to a stylite monk who worshipped on his pillar and was buried there." ↩

  3. TirejAfrin, "Major Shrines." Arabic quote: "ويتسمى الناس باسمها كثيرا." English translation: "and people frequently name their children after it." ↩

  4. Nidal Yousef, "'مزار قازقلي'... مباركة بالاسم والمكان" [The Qaziqli Shrine: Blessing in Name and Place], eSyria, December 31, 2011, https://www.esyria.sy/2011/12/مزار-قازقلي-مباركة-بالاسم-والمكان. Arabic quote: "تقع 'زيارة قازقلي' على قمة 'جبل قازقلي' الذي يطل من الجهة الغربية على 'سهل العمق' ومن الجهة الجنوبية على 'سهول جومه' ومدينة 'جنديرس'، وقمة 'جبل قازقلي' مغطاة بأشجار الصنوبر التي تشكل مكان اصطياف وتنزه للناس خلال فصل الصيف. ... وهناك آثار إفرنجية ومقبرة قديمة حول المزار." English translation: "The Qaziqli shrine sits on the peak of Mount Qaziqli, which overlooks the Amuq plain from the western side and the Juma plains and the city of Jindires from the southern side. The summit of Mount Qaziqli is covered with pine trees, which form a summering and picnicking place for people during the summer season. ... There are Frankish remains and an old cemetery around the shrine." ↩

  5. Yousef, "'مزار قازقلي'." Arabic quote: "بالنسبة لتاريخ المزار وبانيه فهو أمر مجهول لدينا كمعظم المزارات الأخرى ولكننا في المنطقة توراثنا تكريمه وتقديسه جيلاً بعد جيل وذلك من آبائنا وأجدادنا، إنّ عنصر التكريم للمزار يعود إلى أنه تابع لشخصية أحد الأولياء والصالحين فإما هو مدفون فيه أو توجد في الموقع إشارة من إشاراته كنقطة دم مثلاً وما شابه." English translation: "As for the date of the shrine and its builder, this is unknown to us, as with most of the other shrines, but we in the region have inherited its honouring and veneration generation after generation from our fathers and grandfathers. The element of honour given to the shrine comes from its belonging to the person of one of the saints and the righteous; either he is buried in it, or there is at the site one of his signs, such as a drop of blood, and the like." ↩

  6. Yousef, "'مزار قازقلي'." Arabic quote: "فمن الناحية الطبية يعتقد الناس منذ القدم بقدرة المزارات على الشفاء من الكثير من الأمراض التي تصيب الناس وطريقة العلاج معروفة لدى الجميع وهي أن يقوم الشخص المريض بزيارة المزار وتقديم قربان بالقرب منه وقراءة بعض الآيات القرآنية والرجاء من الشهيد المدفون في المزار مساعدته في التخلص من مرضه ومسح رأسه أو جبينه بالقماش الأخضر الذي يلف به تابوت الشهيد." English translation: "From the medical side, people have believed since old times in the power of the shrines to heal many of the illnesses that afflict people. The method of treatment is known to all: the sick person visits the shrine, presents an offering near it, recites some Quranic verses, pleads with the martyr buried in the shrine to help him rid himself of his illness, and wipes his head or forehead with the green cloth in which the martyr's coffin is wrapped." ↩

  7. Yousef, "'مزار قازقلي'." Arabic quote: "اجتماعياً يأتي الكثير من الناس إلى المزار أملاً في تحقيق رغباتهم وأمنياتهم وفك العقد والطلاسم وحل مشاكلهم الشخصية والعائلية المستعصية وذلك باتباع الطريقة المعروفة والشائعة وذلك بربط قطع قماشية على مبناه أو في مدخله. خلال أيام الجمع بشكل خاص يزدحم المكان بالزوار والمتبركين من مختلف القرى في المنطقة وقد جاؤوا جالبين معهم الدجاج أو الخراف لتقديمها قرباناً أو قطع قماشية لربطها على أمل أن تتحقق ما في بالهم من أماني وأحلام." English translation: "Socially, many people come to the shrine hoping to fulfil their desires and wishes, to untie knots and spells, and to solve their intractable personal and family problems, following the well-known and widespread method of tying pieces of cloth onto its building or at its entrance. On Fridays especially, the place crowds with visitors and blessing-seekers from the different villages of the region, who come bringing chickens or sheep to present as offerings, or pieces of cloth to tie, in the hope that the wishes and dreams in their minds will come true." ↩

  8. Yousef, "'مزار قازقلي'." Arabic quote: "ولذلك فإنّ العرف الديني والاجتماعي يحرّم التعرض للمزارات وقطع الأشجار المزروعة بجانبها، وهناك قصة شهيرة في المنطقة مفادها أنّ أحد الأشخاص قام بقطع شجرة أحد المزارات ولكنه أصيب بالعمى قبل وصوله للبيت ولذلك تجف تلك الأشجار مع مرور الزمن وتتساقط أغصانها على الأرض وتهترئ دون أن يقترب منها أحد." English translation: "For this reason religious and social custom forbids harming the shrines or cutting the trees planted beside them. There is a famous story in the region that a person cut down the tree of one of the shrines but was struck blind before reaching his house. So those trees dry out with the passage of time, and their branches fall to the ground and decay without anyone approaching them." ↩