Yazidi temple-ziarat Sultan Ezid
Confession: Yazidi
Date of foundation: 2019
Status: Operating temple
Condition: Good
From Yerevan: 35 km / 40 min.
In the village ofAknalich, Armavir region, on September 29, 2019, the opening ceremony of the world’s largest Yazidi temple-ziarat took place. In the world, the Yazidis have very few such temples, called ziarat (sanctuaries). The ceremony was attended by many Yezidis, representatives of government institutions of Armenia, the spiritual leaders of all the Yezidis of the worldMir Tasim BekandAkhtiyare Margawho gave the name to the ziaratSltan Ezida. According toHasan Hasanyan, the spiritual leader of the Yazidis in Armenia, the Aknalich Temple is the first Yazidi temple in the territory of the former Soviet Union.
The 25-meter-tall temple is built of marble and granite and will house a prayer hall, a religious school and a museum. The architect of the temple is Artak Ghulyan.
Yazidis are descendants of the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism. Today, approximately 35,000 Yazidis live in Armenia. The temple was built at the expense of Mirza Sloyan, a famous Moscow businessman born in Aknalche.
Since Soviet times, the Yazidi community has integrated into Armenian society, freely practicing their religion and publishing newspapers and textbooks in the Yazidi language.
The Yazidi religion is associated with the worship of 7 angels seven days a week, and there is a main angel: the peacock, which seems to be the Armenian “Ghazaran blbul” (Mythical bird in Armenian legends).
