Sarıkız is one of the most famous legends about Turkey's Mount Ida (KAZDAGI). Every year, a celebratory

pilgrimage to the top of Sarıkız Hill is organized to pay tribute to this legend.

According to the legend, Sarıkız was a beautiful girl with flowing blonde hair. She lived with her father, Cılbak Baba. She was said to be so beautiful that men would fall instantly in love with her and beg for her hand in marriage. But she turned them all down; she wasn't interested in being married. Her father was highly respected by the people of their village. 

One day, after his wife died, Cılbak Baba asked his daughter to move with him from their village to another city. This decision was so hard for Cilbak Baba because their home was full of memories of his wife.

They settled in Güre Kavurçiler Village, where the legend begins in the foothills of Kazdağları There is where the family made a living by shepherding.

One day, her father had to leave for a long journey and their neighbour to take care of her. While he was away, many suitors came for his daughter. They asked her to accept their sons' marriage proposal, but all were rejected. The men whose marriage proposals were rejected became resentful and started rumours about Sarıkız's integrity.

 According to a Turkish tradition, when a man wants to marry a girl, he sends his parent to the girl’s parent to tell them that their son wants to marry their daughter. The girl's parent asks their daughter her opinion on whether she wants to marry that guy or not. If the girl accepts the proposal, the boy goes with his parents to the girl's home. After a ceremony, the marriage is accepted by both families.

When Cilbak Baba returned, he was told that his daughter had become a prostitute. So he had two options, either kill her or excommunicate her from the village. He took Sarıkız up to the mountains with a couple of geese. With a heavy heart, and left her there.

 Years have passed. Something strange happened. The father heard exciting stories about a girl. The travellers who lost their way on the mountain said that a beautiful blonde-haired girl had helped them. Also, they noted that Sarıkız had a lot of geese with her. When they told Sarıkız these geese descended on Bayramiç plain one day and damaged farms, she picked up stones and created a courtyard for her geese with the stones. These walls remain, known as the goose courtyard (Kaz Avlusu)  and can be found on the summit of Kazdağları, Kaz Mountains.

 Cılbak Baba’s guilt ate away at him for years over what he had done to his daughter. When he heard rumours of a blonde-haired woman helping travellers navigate the treacherous mountains, he searched for her and finally found Sarıkız in the mountains. She was happy to see her father despite what he'd done to her. 

 Sarıkız gave her father water to wash his hands and face, but he said that it was salty, and realized that she had miraculously reached over to the sea and filled it up there. She immediately apologized and rotated the bowl of water to the mountains, and it became clear and unsalted. Her father learned that Sarıkız had become a saint. But on understanding this, a dark cloud appeared, and she died, her secret discovered. Devastated and dazed, he roamed the mountains before dying on the neighbouring hill.

 It's a sad story, but one the locals are drawn to. Both hills are named after the pair that died on them and formed an essential part of local custom and culture.

Serif Aydin

Serif Aydin is a student at Algonquin College. He is an editor-in-chief of a Turkish literary magazine and an activist.

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