The Diyarê Felekê cemetery in northern Syria is a sacred place for the Yazidi population of the surrounding villages. In addition to Yazidi sheikhs, people who were killed in the invasions of Shengal and Afrin are buried here.
The Diyarê Felekê cemetery, located north of the district of Tirbêspiyê, is a sacred place for the Yazidi population of the surrounding villages and is frequently visited. The typical pointed domes stand for enlightenment, sun and the endlessness of life in the Yazidi belief.
There is another Yazidi cemetery in the village of Mizgeftê. The history of these cemeteries dates back to 1925. Diyarê Felekê was built by Yazidi Heci Gorgin and is named after a story about Mîr Meh, who was popular and respected in Yazidi society and met a woman named Felek while traveling. The cemetery contains numerous gravesites of Yazidi sheikhs, including Sheikh Nasir Mirza. There are also dozens of Yazidi people buried here who were killed by the "Islamic State" in Shengal in 2014 and by the Turkish state in Afrin in 2018.
There is also a "wishing tree" on the grounds of the cemetery. The Yazidis attach their wishes to the mulberry tree at Sheikh Nasir's gravesite and pray to Tawûsê Melek. Especially on holidays and special occasions, the cemetery is a center of attraction for the local Yazidi population.
