Turkey - Eshab-ı Kehf Kulliye (Islamic-Ottoman Social Complex)

Eshab-i Kehf –the Seven Sleepers- (the companions of cave) is a narrative illustrating the interaction of different cultures in a process dating from Paganism to Christianity and then to Islam. The incident of a very long sleep and re-awakening in a cave, which constitutes the essence of the parable, appears in a variety of religions and legends. They are described as 7 people in Christian depictions. Unlike the Christian depiction, a shepherd and a shepherd dog called Kitmis (or Al-Rakım) who attended the youth of fled are stated in Islamic depiction.