Saints and Tombs of Hatay

Maqam of al-Khidr

A maqam (symbolic shrine, not a confirmed grave) attributed to al-Khidr, the immortal figure who instructs the Prophet Musa in Surah al-Kahf. Located on the Mediterranean shore in Samandağ, it is one of Turkey's foremost interfaith pilgrimage sites: Muslims (notably Arab Alevis) venerate it as al-Khidr's maqam, while Orthodox Christians venerate the same spot as Mar Circus / St. George. (Sources: Samandağ District Governorate, samandag.gov.tr; isamveri.org academic article on Khidr–St. George syncretism)

Maqam of Bayazid Bastami

A maqam attributed to the great Khorasani Sufi Bayazid Bastami (Sultan al-'Arifin, d. 234/848); according to TDV his actual grave is in Bastam, Iran, so the Kırıkhan structure is symbolic (maqam — not a confirmed grave). Located inside Darb-ı Sak (Trapessac) Castle near Alaybeyli in Kırıkhan, the vaulted tomb collapsed in the February 2023 earthquake. (Sources: TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi 'Bâyezîd-i Bistâmî'; academic study, ISAM/academia.edu)

Maqam of Sham'un al-Safa

A maqam of the figure traditionally counted among the messengers sent to Antioch in the 'People of the Town' (Ashab al-Qarya) narrative of Surah Yasin — identified by Qur'anic exegetes with Simon Peter (maqam — not a confirmed grave; identification rests on tafsir tradition and is debated). It is represented by cenotaphs in the two-level tomb beneath Habib-i Neccar Mosque in central Antakya. (Sources: TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi 'Habîb en-Neccâr' & 'Ashâbü'l-karye'; Hatay Governorate)

Sheikh Yusuf al-Hakim (the Physician)

A physician-sheikh dated to the 15th–16th century, renowned as a healer; oral tradition holds he came from Latakia (Syria) to Harbiye and treated ailments such as blindness, paralysis and fractures. His exact death date is undocumented. His tomb lies in the Defne district in the Harbiye valley along the Antakya–Harbiye road and is still visited for healing. (Sources: Lokman Hekim Journal of History of Medicine, dergipark.org.tr; Hatay Governorate)

Sheikh Ahmad al-Qushayri

Sheikh

A saint of the Halveti (Khalwati) Sufi order and the Shafi'i school of law, who received his ijaza from his father Sheikh Abdurrahman in 1520. During the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent he built a dervish lodge, madrasa, mosque and fountains in the Quseyr (today Şenköy) region. He died in 1549; his tomb stands in Şenköy (Yayladağı, Hatay) and also contains the graves of seventeen members of his family.

Habib al-Najjar (Habib the Carpenter)

The believer whose story is told in Sûrat Yâsîn, killed by his people for having believed the messengers; in the Islamic sources he is known by the nisba neccâr (carpenter). The commentators differ about his name: it is given as Habîb b. Mûsâ , Habîb b. Isrâ'îl and Habîb b. Mer'î . Nor is there a single report about his trade; the sources present him as a carpenter, a silk merchant, a cloth bleacher or a shoemaker. It is related that he set aside half of his daily earnings for his family and gave the other half in alms. It is stated that, because of leprosy, he lived far from the city in seclusion, occupied with worship. His story is told in the Qur'an thus (Yâsîn 36/13-29): two messengers were sent to a city, and then a third was sent to support them. The people of the city opposed the messengers; against this, a man from the edge of the city came and believed in them and supported them. This believer was killed by the people of the city and entered Paradise, while those who disbelieved were destroyed by a single blast. There are differing reports about the manner of his death as well: it is related that he was stoned, that he was lynched, or that he was cut apart with a saw. His Tomb and Complex — At Antioch, beneath a structure at the foot of Mount Silpius which was first a Roman temple, then a Byzantine church, and afterwards a mosque, one of three graves is attributed to him.