Northern Iraq is home to the Yazidis, an ethnoreligious minority centered around northern Mesopotamia, especially in the towns of Sinjar and Shekhan either side of Mosul. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Around 650,000 Yazidis live in Iraq. Their distinct religion combines aspects of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Mithraism, Mandaeans and Zoroastrianism, including the belief in Melek Taus – the Peacock Angel – to whom God the creator entrusted the care of Earth.
The 4,000 year-old town of Lalish is home to the Yazidi’s most sacred temple, which contains the tomb of Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, the religion’s chief saint. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The village is not inhabited, only the head figure in the Yazidi faith, the Emir, lives here. There are many empty houses in the village, which are available to pilgrims that are expected once in their life to make a six day pilgrimage to the temple. Lalish (Arabic: لالش, is a mountain valley and temple in Shekhan in Iraq. It is the holiest temple of the Yazidis. It is the location of the tomb of the Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, a central figure of the Yazidi faith.Lalish Temple dates back about 4000 years ago, The temple is built at about 1,000 meters above sea level and situated among three mountains, Hizrat in the west, Misat in the south and Arafat in the north. . Through their history, the Yazidi people have endured much systematic violence as they upheld their religion in the face of severe Islamic radicals persecution and attempts to force them to convert and during ISIS periods they faced a massacre and they kidnapped thousands of them while others forced to flee to the mountains. Yazidism is a monotheistic faith based on belief in one God, who created the world and entrusted it into the care of a Heptad of seven Holy Beings, often known as Angels (the Seven Mysteries). Preeminent among these is Tawûsê Melek (also known as “Melek Taûs”), the Peacock Angel.
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