Qriz village

According to the legend, Jewish populations found shelter in Qriz, as well as other high mountains around it during the persecutions of Nadir Shah. From here, they descended to lower territories in small groups as the situation was becoming more stable, creating temporary settlements along the way in villages of Uchgun, Kupchal, and others, before eventually settling in Qirmizi Qasaba. However, there are no traces of the Jewish population left in the village of Qriz at the moment, except for the stories told by the local people. Older generations remember Jewish people selling dyes for the wool threads, they were using for weaving carpets and knitting traditional socks. Jews were also occupied with other small trades, which played an essential part in the life of the people of Qriz isolated from the main cities. The village is scattered with graves and gravestones have a dominant place in the landscape here, although they are also believed to be Muslim graves. According to one theory, the Jewish part of the village was swept away by a tragic landfall. This theory is also backed by a few ancient photographs depicting that the village used to be bigger. Today, the village of Qriz is a small settlement with 35 houses accessible only via an hour-long Niva ride from Khinaliq road. Local people speak the language of Qriz and are descendants of the ancient Albanian tribes known as “er”. According to the theory of Shikhbaba m., a local aghsaqqal (local elder), the word qriz means flatland on a high place, as “q” in the local language means high and “ritz” means a flat land, which can refer to the location of the village. The main occupation in Qriz is cattle breeding. The proximity to several spectacular waterfalls, alpine landscapes, and other small villages have recently made Qriz an important eco and adventure tourism spot. Several houses in the village offer homestays. There are ruins of an ancient mosque and the tomb of Pir Jalal in the territory of Qriz.