Pir Khidr Zinda or Legend About Besh Barmag
Pir Khidr Zinda - or Khidir Zunja - is a sacred place for Muslims, located at the foot of the Beshbarmag Mountain in the district of Siyazan, Azerbaijan.
Abbasgulu Agha Bakikhanov, an Azerbaijani writer, historian, journalist, linguist, poet and philosopher, acknowledged in his famous book “Gulistani-Irem”, which is one of the most important sources of our history, that the Majma-ul-Bahrain, i.e. the confluence of the two seas, mentioned in the Quran was alleged to be located in the Shirvan province. The domes of the rock of prophets Musa and Khidir are also located there. Expressing his views on this, Bakikhanov points to related scientific considerations by other authors.
The word ‘zinda’ means ‘alive' or ‘immortal', which is a sign of Prophet Khiḍr who is found to be immortal to be linked with some of the most ancient legends known to us today, because he drank from the water of life. Therefore, the people used to call Beshbarmag Mountain, five naked peaks, 'Khidr-Zinda Baba' or 'Khidrzinda Mount' located in the Siyazan district on the coast of the Caspian Sea. Various legends of Beshbarmag live on: Ramzi Yuzbashov, a researcher, manifests that the word 'barmag' in 'Beshbarmag' means a 'shish hill.' According a another theory, Beshbarmak denotes a 'finger'. So, in the etymology of the people, a 'big toe' means an elder brother.
In the map of the Caspian Sea created in 1375 in the Spanish province of Catalonia, Beshbarmak is known as Barmag, while as “Marmakh” on the map of Adam Oleari, a duke in the feudal county of Holstein in the 17th century. The second volume of the Encyclopedia of Azerbaijan is written as follows: "Beshbarmag was a defense gate belonging to the IV-VII centuries. This barrier lies from the skirts of Beshbarmag to the Caspian Sea. At the foot of the mountain, the large barbed bricks were composed of two walls with two hundred meters apart. Albanian historian Movses Kalankatli noted that the Beshbarmag barrier was built under Sasani King Yazdegir (437-457). It was built to prevent the attack of normadic people... "
So, Khidr-Zinda is a sacred place, as well as one of the indescribable heritage of our glorious history.
Aydin Tagiyev
AND OTHER...
-
Molla Panah Vagif’s Creativity on the USA Literary Portal
“Poetry.com”, a leading USA literary portal, has posted in English the poem “Violets” by Molla Panah Vagif, the prominent poet of Azerbaijan, as part of the AzSTC...
-
Jalil Mammadguluzadeh’s Creativity on the Literary Portal of Austria
“Gedichtesammlung.net”, the popular Austrian literary portal, has posted in German the short story “Mailbox” by Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, the prominent...
-
AzSTC Hosts Certificate Award Ceremony for Translators
The Azerbaijan State Translation Centre (AzSTC) has completed the next qualifying examinations for professional translators. The translators who passed...