Тюрбето на Саръ баба над с. Момчиловци, Смолянско
The Sara Baba Tomb Over the Village of Momchilovtsi, Smolyan Region

Summary/Abstract: Subject to discussion in the article is a tomb in the Central Rhodope Mountains, which has not been very well known and has been built and destroyed at various periods and under different political situations. According to Christian informants, Sara Baba (along with Inihan Baba, “the conqueror of the Rhodopes”) had been an Ottoman military commander who lost his life in that part of the mountain. According to Muslim informants, he had been the younger brother of Inihan Baba, whose tomb, referred to as the Rhodope’s Mecca, is located at a distance of about 40 km eastwards. The two brothers were fair people of good will and did good. The fact that the tomb is in a totally Sunnite region, where other tombs are rare, and nevertheless is held in high respect and is frequented, is very attractive from a researcher’s point of view. The article draws a parallel between the beliefs in the Sunnite and Alevite regions, situated to the east; between the “field” and “mountain” interpretations of the legends about the three/four/forty fair brothers (probably dervishes), whose tombs are numerous (particularly in the Eastern parts of the Rhodopes). The history of the building has been studied, as well as the different variants of “the life” of the saint, his possible relationship to other holy personages, and his role in the society of yore and of today.

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