Lalish Laliş Lalişa Nûranî
Sacred place
Conical roofs over the temples of Şêx Adî in Lalish
Lalish Location in Kurdistan, Iraq
Coordinates: 36°46′17.03″N 43°18′12.04″E / 36.7713972°N 43.3033444°E / 36.7713972; 43.3033444
Country	Iraq
Region	Kurdistan Region
Governorate	Nineveh
District	Shekhan District
Elevation	861 m (2,825 ft)

Lalish (Kurdish: لالش, romanized: Laliş,^[1][2] also known as Lalişa Nûranî) is a mountain valley^[3] and temple^[4] located in the Nineveh Plains, Iraq. It is the holiest temple of the Yazidis.^[5] It is the location of the tomb of the Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, a central figure of the Yazidi faith.^[6]

The temple is above the town of Shekhan, which had the second largest population of Yazidi prior to the persecution of Yazidis by ISIL.^[7] The temple is about sixty kilometers north of Mosul and 14 kilometers west from the village Ayn Sifna. The temple is built at about 861 meters above sea level and situated among three mountains, Hizrat in the west, Misat in the south and Arafat in the north.^[8][9]

At least once in their lifetimes, Yazidis are expected to make a six-day pilgrimage to Lalish to visit the tomb of Şêx Adî and other sacred places.^[6] These other sacred places are shrines dedicated to other holy beings. There are two sacred springs called Zamzam and the Kaniya Spî (White Spring).^[10] Below Sheikh Adi's sanctuary, which also includes the tomb of Sheikh Hesen is situated a cave.^[10]

Lalish is also the location of pirrā selāt (Ṣerāṭ Bridge) and a mountain called Mt. ʿErefāt which has sites significant in other faiths.^[9] Yazidis living in the region are also expected to make a yearly pilgrimage to attend the autumn seven-day Feast of the Assembly,^[11] which is celebrated between 6th and 13th of October.

1. ↑ "دوو پڕۆژە بۆ پەرستگەی لالش جێبەجێدەكرێن". Rûdaw (in Kurdish). 27 June 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
2. ↑ "Perestgeha Laliş tê nûjenkirin". Rûdaw. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
3. ↑ C. J. Edmonds (2002). A Pilgrimage to Lalish. Psychology Press. p. 10. ISBN 9780947593285. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
4. ↑ Luongo, Michael (21 August 2014). Fighting Back With Faith: Inside The Yezidis Iraqi Temple (PDF). The Daily Beast. p. 1. Retrieved 13 August 2019. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)^{[permanent dead link]}
5. ↑ "Lalish Temple". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Soguel, Dominique (August 12, 2014). "World Middle East A sanctuary for Iraqi Yazidis – and a plea for Obama's intervention". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
7. ↑ "Iraq crisis: the last stand of the Yazidis against Islamic State". The Telegraph. August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
8. ↑ "The Spiritual Centre of Lalish and the mausoleum of Sheikh Adi". Mesopotamia. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Harrassowitz, O. (2009). From Daena to Din. Religion, Kultur und Sprache in der iranischen Welt: Festschrift für Philip Kreyenbroek zum 60. Geburtstag. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 357. ISBN 978-3447059176.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Kreyenbroek, Philip G.; Jindy Rashow, Khalil (2005). God and Sheikh Adi are Perfect. Wiesbaden: Harassovitz Verlag. pp. 37–38. ISBN 3447053003.
11. ↑ Allison, Christine (July 20, 2004). "YAZIDIS i. GENERAL". Encyclopædia Iranica (online ed.). New York. Retrieved August 13, 2014.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)