Cemeteries, where the dead rest, or dare we say, those who do not find peace, live on. Here are six historic burial grounds in South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa which are rumored to be haunted.
1) Wadi-us-Salaam, Najaf
Known as the "Valley of Peace" in English, it lies 150km south of Baghdad, next to the shrine of Hazrat Ali (R). It is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, with over 5,000,000 people buried there.
2) Jafarjung Cemetary, Murshidabad, West Bengal
Here lies the grave of Mir Jafar - the wife of Nawab Nazim allegedly haunts the place, searching for her loved ones at midnight. Mir Jafar, in both Urdu and Bangla today, is synonymous with "traitor" - he made an agreement he made with the East India Company, betraying the motherland for English support. The armed forces of Bengal surrendered due to this agreement with the British military at the Battle of Plassey, which marked the beginning of the British Raj in Bengal. He also gave his daughter Nazia Begum in marriage to the British governor of Bengal, James Patrick Peters, despite it being against the laws of Muslim scripture.
3) Chaukhundi Tombs, Karachi:
Buried south to north – unusual for the area and time period – these tombs are constructed from intricately carved huge sandstone slabs. Built between the 15th and 18th centuries, the Chaukhandi Tombs have several foreboding legends surrounding them. Lore has it that the tombs heat up and glow at night. There are also tales of voices escaping the tombs and the tombs shifting places!
4) The Valley of Kings, Egypt
The rulers of the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt's prosperous New Kingdom were buried in a desolate dry river valley across the river from the ancient city of Thebes. Now known as the Valley of the Kings, it lies just across the river from the city of Luxor. These tombs of Egyptian pharaohs have existed for a few thousand years. The place is said to be riddled with ghosts and evil energies, likely due to the magic involved, intending to keep the tombs safe from those who may try to pry them open.
5) Jewish Cemetary, Asilah
Asilah (or Arcila) is one of the most beautiful cities in northern Morocco. It has one of the best-preserved medinas in Morocco. Many Jews emigrated from Spain following the Alhambra Decree. The seaside cemetery in the town is now abandoned. The gravestones are mainly simple and have epigrams written in Hebrew and in Spanish, as was common in the Sephardic communities.
6) Jinn Cemetery, Chahbahar
Located in the village of Tis, it dates back nearly 2500 years. This 2500-year-old graveyard has large and strange tombstones, graves extremely close to the surface, dug on the stony ground, on mountain slopes. Locals believe it is the final resting place for the Jinn. Locals believe that the Jinns come to this cemetery and mourn at the graves of their dead. Should humans enter it after dusk, they will be cursed by the Jinns.
This blog has been written by Komal Salman.
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