The hill named Narystau is located not too far from the city of Sterlitamak in central Bashkortostan, one of the so-called ethnic republics of the Russian Federation. After discovering the graves of two sahaba (companions of the Prophet Muhammad) there, it developed into a popular Muslim pilgrimage site over the course of the 2000s. As most of the Russian population is Orthodox Christian by denomination, one may also encounter Orthodox or spiritual-minded visitors, who come to drink from the sacred well at Narystau and consider it to be a place of power.
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At Narystau 1 © Jesko Schmoller
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At Narystau 2 © Jesko Schmoller
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At Narystau 3 © Jesko Schmoller
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At Narystau 4 © Jesko Schmoller
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At Narystau 5 © Jesko Schmoller
Dr Jesko Schmoller is a Research Fellow at Institute for Asian and African Studies, Humboldt University Berlin (Germany) and Senior Researcher at the Centre for Comparative History and Political Studies, Perm State University (Russia). He is concerned with local Muslim pilgrimage, saint veneration and Sufism.
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