Qara atlı baba piri

Qara atlı baba piri or Qaraatlı piri is a religious shrine located in the Qobustan National Historical and Cultural Reserve, south of the Kiçikdaş mountain massif. The shrine is situated under large rock fragments. Various legends exist about its origin.

About

Qara atlı baba piri is located in the Qobustan National Historical and Cultural Reserve, south of the Kiçikdaş mountain massif. The shrine is built on a tombstone that lies under large rock fragments. The formation of the shrine is related to a horse-shaped tombstone in the "Qara atlı" cemetery located a little southeast of the shrine. This tombstone, shaped like a horse's body, is headless and legless, and on it there are weapons and armor.

Various legends exist about the formation of the shrine. According to one legend, in the 7th century, when Islam spread in Azerbaijan, a person with a black horse was attacked by infidels. Seeing that the enemies had reached him, he hid among the rocks and vanished. Afterwards his enemies cut off the head of his horse. The horse's head immediately turned into stone. Another legend says that Qaraatlı baba was a devout person living in exile. Before taking eternal refuge in the underground labyrinths of the mountain, he turned his horse into stone.

There are also various hypotheses about the origin of the shrine's name. One of these is that it is connected to the name of the Qaraatlı Turkic tribe. Historical sources note the Qaraatlı as one of the Turkic tribes that lived in the territories of Azerbaijan and Anatolia. It is known that in the areas they inhabited, a number of settlements, toponyms, and shrines were formed with names related to the tribe. Currently, in Turkey, there are villages and towns named Qaraatlı in the provinces of Niğde, Aydın, and Burdur, where the Qaraatlı tribe lived.

The pir is considered a shrine for freeing the people from long‑lasting serious illnesses. People pray there for the improvement of their affairs and to be freed from disease. It is also customary for women without children to hang a nənni (a kind of shawl) inside the shrine. Visitors to the pir enter, make wishes, and walk around the stone of Sal three times. Those who have no house come here, build small houses for themselves from tiny stones, and pray to God.