Lalish

Lalish is a narrow wooded valley in the hills of Shekhan, in Duhok governorate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and the holiest place of the Yazidis, a faith whose followers mostly speak Kurmanji Kurdish. At its heart is the tomb of Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, a Sufi teacher who settled in these mountains and died here in 1162, and who holds a central place in Yazidi tradition. Yazidis hope to make the pilgrimage to Lalish at least once in their lives.

The sanctuary is easy to recognise by its fluted conical spires, which rise above the stone buildings of the shrine. Pilgrims take off their shoes to walk barefoot in the valley, and on entering the shrine they step over the threshold without touching it. Inside are springs held sacred, among them the Kaniya Spi, the White Spring, where Yazidi children are baptised. In the autumn the valley fills with people for the Feast of the Assembly, the great annual gathering of the faith.

Yazidis have often faced persecution over the centuries. In August 2014 the so-called Islamic State attacked the Yazidis of Sinjar, killing and enslaving thousands, crimes that the United Nations and many governments have recognised as genocide. In the years since, Lalish has been a place of refuge, mourning and renewal, and the shrine has been repaired and cared for by the community. It remains the spiritual centre of Yazidis in Iraq and in the diaspora.