Kutuklu Baba Turbe. Selino, Xanthi

The Site

This site is a late 15th century turbe (tomb), located in a field close to the village of Selino and the Vistonida lake, one of the most important wetlands in Northern Greece.

The Practice

According to Giorgos Mavrommatis (2001), the site was venerated by both Muslims and Christians at least until 1999. It is assumed that this shared veneration was also spatially divided. Muslims would venerate the western side of the monument (closer to the actual tomb) while Christians would use a makeshift chapel built on the eastern side and dedicated to St. George. The restoration project that was recently completed probably discouraged pilgrims coming to the site. At the time of our visit, the site was flooded and we couldn’t access the interior. Walking around the site, however, we noticed that certain objects like coins and candles, mostly concentrated on the eastern side of the site, could hint to veneration practices.  An informant at the village nearby told us that people, including Muslims, go there to ‘honor Ai Yiorgis’ as part of a local feast.

References

Giorgos Mavrommatis (2001)