Sema
In this evocative photograph from 1920, an Ezidi woman stands at the doorway of her home in the village of Brad, located northwest of Aleppo. Dressed in traditional Ezidi attire, she represents a resilient community that has long called this region home.
Today, approximately 7,000 Ezidis still live in the Jabal Semaan area, sharing the landscape with ancient Christian communities whose presence dates back to the Byzantine era. The doorframe above her bears a subtle but powerful marker of this historical coexistence — a Christogram engraved in stone, connecting the site to the sixth century and hinting at the layered religious heritage of the region.
Within their community, the Ezidis speak Kurdish, preserving their linguistic identity, though Arabic is also widely understood. This image, quietly striking in its simplicity, captures more than just a moment in time; it tells a story of cultural endurance, shared history, and the intricate mosaic of northern Syria’s past.