Like the other saints of the Alevi the dead dervish, Ali Koc Baba heals the sick who seek help from him for centuries. And his power appears most prominently on the day of St George – 6th of May. That is why both Christians and Muslims gather near the grave of Ali Koc Baba near Nikopol just on that day when the Muslims celebrate Hederlesi to gather health from the saint.
Ottoman Archives of the 16th Century show that Ali Koc Baba was a wandering dervish who was declared a saint. According to the legend, he himself has chosen the place to bury him shortly before he dies, and that’s why the area is special. Until recently, a huge old oak grew near the turbot. The tree, according to the legend, grows from the snatched rod of the saint. Every year on 6th of May there are celebrations with music and health rituals near the sixth stone building resembling pyramid in which the saint and the healer rest.
According to the tradition, the place where the turbine was erected was holy and revered in antiquity, and there was a pagan abbey in it during the time of the Thracians. In the past, there was built the old hospital of Nikopol so not only the doctors but the saint as well can help the sick to heal. For the power of the place tells a modern story. In 1998, three foreigners dug the ground around the tomb of the saint in search of a hidden treasure. Two of them were paralyzed and the third gone mad.
