Safedbulan (, before 2004: Гулистан ''Gulistan'') is a village in

Ala-Buka District Ala-Buka () is a district of Jalal-Abad Region in western Kyrgyzstan. The seat lies at Ala-Buka. Its area is , and its resident population was 108,647 in 2021. Population Populated places Ala-Buka District, in its entirety, encompassed 42 villa ...

Jalal-Abad Region Jalal-Abad (; ) is a region (''oblast, oblus'') of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is the city of the same name, Jalal-Abad. It is surrounded by (clockwise from the north) Talas Region, Chüy Region, Naryn Region, Osh Region, and Uzbekistan. Jalal-Abad ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

. Its population was 6,707 in 2021. It is also an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

reserve that is considered sacred for

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. The village is in an area in the north-western part of the

Fergana Valley The Fergana Valley (also commonly spelled the Ferghana Valley) in Central Asia crosses eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Encompassing three former Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet republics, the valley is e ...

, on the border with

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. It lies on the river Chanachsay, 14 km east of

Ala-Buka Ala-Buka a village which is the seat of Ala-Buka District of Jalal-Abad Region, Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges ...

and 11 km southwest of Kerben. The settlement is at least one thousand years old and is mentioned in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

scriptures under the name ''Isbid Bulan''.

History

The village of Safedbulan is named after ''Bulan'' (woman), a black African maiden. According to legend, Bulan came to the lands of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

with the army of

warriors led by her beloved and, perhaps, her master, ''Shah-Jarir'' (grandson of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

). Apparently this wave of the

Muslim conquests The Muslim conquests, Muslim invasions, Islamic conquests, including Arab conquests, Arab Islamic conquests, also Iranian Muslim conquests, Turkic Muslim conquests etc. *Early Muslim conquests ** Ridda Wars **Muslim conquest of Persia *** Muslim co ...

was a successful one, since historical sources tell that the local tribal inhabitants "pretended to accept" a new religion of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. According to the legend, the locals attacked while the Arabs had laid down their weapons for their

Friday prayers Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

. While some warriors were able to flee, many defenseless

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

were beheaded on the spot. Bulan unsuccessfully searched for her lover who, it is believed, had fled back to

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. Though everyone was prohibited from burying the dead, Bulan gathered the 2700 heads of the decapitated Arabs, washed them of blood in the river and buried them all. She was ''blessed for her deed by becoming completely white all over''. Hence the name: ''Safed (or safid) Bulan (or Bulon)''(White Woman). Some historians believe that Safed Bulan's hair turned white due to the shock she had experienced witnessing the massacre. When Safed Bulan died, she was buried near the slain Arab warriors. Her grave became a place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

, or a ''

mazar Mazar of Al-Mazar may refer to: *Mazar (mausoleum), Muslim mausoleum or shrine Places * Mazar (toponymy), a component of Arabic toponyms literally meaning shrine, grave, tomb, etc. ; Afghanistan * Mazar, Afghanistan, village in Balkh Province * ...

'' ( Arabic for ''holy mausoleum''). ''Kirin mechet'', the place where the warriors were beheaded, stands nearby on the left. According to the legend, the rock that stands at the mazar's entry marks the exact spot where Safed Bulan washed the heads of the warriors. Women visit the mausoleum to pray and ask for Safed-Bulan's blessings. Those who have a hard time conceiving children visit in order to touch the "fertility rock" that lies in the small yard of the mausoleum.

Ferghana Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of ...

's ruler Shah Fazil (born:''Mahmud Ibn Nasir'',a firm believer in

and a son of Shah Jarir) is also buried nearby in the 11th-12th century Shakh Fazil mausoleum that is named after him. His mausoleum is a place of pilgrimage as well; it contains Islamic art, Arabic ornaments, passages from the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

and quotes in Persian. The Shah Fazil mausoleum is on the wait list to be added to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

registry. Descriptions of the site appear in several scholarly studies. In 2002, the U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan funded a restoration of the mausoleum. "The tale of Safed Bulan" (Сафед Булон қиссаси), a literary document written by Shah Khakim Halisa in 1811, is a historical resource that offers information on various mazars of Central Asia.

Population

References

*See also: Sheila Blair. The Monumental Inscriptions from Early Islamic Iran and Transoxiana. Brill, 1992, pp. 128-29.

External links

Bradt Travel Guide: Kyrgyzstan

{{Ala-Buka places Populated places in Jalal-Abad Region