Lalish


Lalish is a mountain valley and temple in Ninawa in Iraq. It is the holiest temple of the Yazidis. It is the location of the tomb of Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, a central figure of the Yazidi faith.
The temple is above the town of Shekhan, which had the second largest population of Yazidi prior to the persecution of Yazidis by ISIL. The temple is about sixty kilometers north of Mosul and 14 kilometers west from the village Ayn Sifna. The temple is built at about 1000 meters above sea level and situated between three mountains, Hizrat in the west, Misat in the south and Arafat in the north.
At least once in their lifetime, Yazidis are expected to make a six-day pilgrimage to Lalish to visit the tomb of Şêx Adî and other sacred places. These other sacred places are shrines dedicated to other holy beings. There are two sacred springs called Zamzam and the Kāniyā spring. Below Sheikh Adi's sanctuary, which also includes the tomb of Sheikh Hesen is situated a cave.
Lalish is also the location of pirrā selāt and a mountain called Mt. ʿErefāt which has sites significant in other faiths. Yazidis living in the region are also expected to make a yearly pilgrimage to attend the autumn seven-day Feast of the Assembly, which is celebrated from 23 Aylūl to 1 Tašrīn I.
It is located in the Shekhan District since 1991.

History

Lalish Temple dates back about 4000 years.
In the early 12th century, Adi ibn Mosāfer moved to Lalish. Adi died in 1162 and was buried. During a major battle against the Yazidi in 1414, the tomb of Adi was razed.
Beginning on 3 August 2014, Yazidi refugees fled from Sinjar and took shelter in the temple after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant placed Sinjar and its environs under siege. When some 50,000 Yezidis trapped on Sinjar Mountain were freed by way of a land corridor opened by the Peoples's Protection Units and Kurdistan Workers' Party, the majority fled through Syria and circled around the north of the Sinjar mountain range to reach Lalish and Shekhan in Kurdistan Region.