Mzkhfta Hhjy Hbdwlrhhman L Batyfa

Known in the local Kurmanji dialect as Mizgefta Haci Abdulrehman, this mosque anchors the village of Batifa within the Yemisli area of Sirnak province in south eastern Turkey, a region where the Zap tributaries of the Tigris carve dramatic canyons through the Hakkari ranges and the Kurdish villages cling to steep terraces planted with apricot, walnut and pomegranate. Sirnak's Islamic heritage is inseparable from the wider Kurdish tradition of madrasa education, where generations of students studied grammar, logic, theology and mysticism under village scholars called melle, whose lineage is traced through the Cizre and Botan emirates of earlier centuries. Hajji Abdul Rahman, for whom the mosque is named, was a respected elder whose pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina inspired him to endow his savings toward the construction of a proper place of prayer for the scattered households of Batifa. The mosque is built of local pink tinged limestone quarried from the nearby cliffs, its walls relatively thick to withstand the harsh winters that bring snow to the Turkish Syrian border. A single squat minaret rises from one corner, crowned by a simple conical roof of tin. The entrance opens into a narrow courtyard shaded by mulberry trees, and the prayer hall within is carpeted with woollen kilims in red, ochre and indigo woven by the village women. The mihrab is faced with a band of painted floral motifs reminiscent of those found in older Mosul and Diyarbakir mosques, and a small wooden minbar stands beside it. A hand written Qur'an copied by a local scholar rests on a lectern in the corner, used by the melle during the daily lessons he offers after asr. Friday prayers gather men from three neighbouring hamlets, the sermon delivered in Kurmanji with Arabic verse recitation. During Ramadan the women of the village prepare iftar together, pooling yoghurt, bread and herb stews, and the men break their fast in the courtyard under the stars. Visitors travelling along the mountain road between Silopi and Cizre can reach Batifa with a careful drive, entering the mosque in modest dress and accepting the warm salam of a community famous for its hospitality toward travellers.