Tomb of Yushi

The hill on which the tomb is located is called Yusha Hill ( tour: Yuşa Tepesi ). The Turks also call it Yuşa Dağı (Mount Yushi) and Dev Dağı (≈ Giant Mountain ^[1] .)

Elevation above sea level is about 200 meters. It is located south of the fortress of Yoros .

The tomb of St. Yusha consists of three structures:

1. wide terrace with benches for pilgrims;
2. a mosque ;
3. the grave of St. Yusha is a flat rectangular earthen elevation 17 meters long and about 2 meters wide. It is surrounded by a high cast-iron grate, which, in turn, is additionally tightened with an iron mesh so that numerous pilgrims cannot touch the sacred ground inside the fence.

A grid surrounds a piece of land overgrown with thick grass. Several tall trees also grow inside the fence. At the opposite ends of the grave are two round cylindrical stones resembling small millstones . In the center of one of them, at the top of the stone, you can see a quadrangular hole and a clearly visible crack in the stone. A tall pole stuck in the ground is tied to this stone. At the top of the pole today is a gold, or gilded, disk with an Arabic inscription , clearly reminiscent of a ripid .

All this building is surrounded by a high stone wall , in which two doors and several windows are made . Pilgrims enter one of these doors, go around the grave and go out through the second door. According to the ideas of the pilgrims, here you can get healing from their ailments.

On the outer wall there is a plate with text in three languages: Turkish, English and Arabic, with a description of three main versions regarding the burial site:

• Here Joshua is buried.
• Here, Yusha ibn Nun , the leader of the Jewish people after the death of St. Musa ( Moses ) ^[2] (which is identified with the prophet Joshua ). The large size of the grave is due to a tribute to the prophet.
• One of the giants living in these places is buried here (this also explains the large size of the grave).

Joshua (Legendary)

Turkish Sufis believe that Yusha ibn Nun is Joshua , who lived in 1082–972 BC. e. This version is also described on the stove:

Bir rivayete göre, Hazreti Musa (AS) 'nın Sancaktarı olan Yuşa, O'nun ordularıyla beraber Beykoz'a kadar gelmiş ve burada yapılan savaşta, kabrinin yakınındaki bir yerde şehid olmuş. Anlatıldığına göre, Sarıyer'in tam karşısında bulunan Sütlüce Köyü önlerinde şehid düşmüş ve mübarek vücudu iki parçaya bölünmüştür. Belden aşağı kısmı deniz kıyısında kalmış, belden yukarı kısmı da, Beykoz sırtlarındaki tepelere doğru sürüne sürüne çıkıp, şimdiki kabrinin bulunduğu yerde ruhunu eterulhuul. Boyu çok uzun olan Yuşa Hazretleri'nin belden yukarı kısmı, 17 metrelik kabre konulmuştur.

According to one legend, Yusha was the standard bearer of St. Musa, he, along with his troops, came to Beykoz and a battle took place here. Yusha was killed in the place where his grave is now. They say that he died in front of the village of Sutluje, located just opposite Saryer and his righteous body was divided into two parts. Part below the waist remained on the seashore, and part above the waist crawling on his stomach, climbed the ridges of the Beykoz hills and gave God his soul in the place where the grave is now. The part of Yusha’s body above the waist was very long and thus a 17-meter grave was laid.

However, the question of how the grave of the prophet Jesus Navin ended up in Beykoz remains open.

According to some studies, this hill is Golgotha . In this case, a round stone with a hole in the middle is, according to this point of view, the place of installation of the cross, and the ripid is the prototype of the Longinus spear .

Yushi Hill History

The history of Yushi Hill has been known since ancient times. In ancient times there was a stone table for sacrifices to Zeus . In the sixth century under Emperor Justinian, this altar was surrounded by a Byzantine church. The remains of this church were preserved until the XIX century (this fact is noted by Jalal Essad ).

In 1755 , on the orders of the great Vesier Osman III Celebizade Mehmet Sait Pasha, a mesjit ^[3] and tekke were built on the hill. In addition, a wall of stone and brick was built around the grave, and workers were appointed to constantly care for and monitor the tomb. Since this place aroused great interest among people, crowds constantly appeared on the hill. Because of this, Sultan Selim III was forced to prohibit reading the life of Muhammad, motivating his decision with "the need to stop contention."

The tomb of St. Yusha acquired its modern appearance in 1863 , when the Sultan Abdul-Aziz ordered the restoration and renovation of buildings (since the old mosque was damaged by fire ). In the statistical report of 1885-1886 of the Ministry of the Interior, this place is referred to as “Yüşa Aleyhisselam Dergahı” (≈ Yusha Aleikhisselam the dervish monastery).

After the 1990s, the residence of the mufti Beykoz was located here. In the 2000s, landscaping continued; a dormitory, a cultural center, a library, a dining room, and Shadyrvan were built for tomb care workers ^[4] .

• Jalal Essad Constantinople (From Byzantium to Istanbul) .- Edition of M. and S. Sabashnikovs. M., 1919. Page 76-77.

• Anadolukavağı (in Turkish)
• Ertan Yurderi. Hz.Yuşa ve iki yürek. (in Turkish)