Arabati Baba Teḱe
Arabati Baba Tekke | |
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Tekke | |
Style | Ottoman architecture |
Founder | Sersem Ali Dede Baba |
Completed | 1538 |
Materials | Stones & Kalkan |
Part of a series on Bektashi Order Bektashi Order |
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The Arabati Baba Tekḱe (
Due to its striking architecture, the Arabati Baba Tekke has become an iconic symbol of Tetovo, and is featured on its municipal coat of arms.
History
Ali Baba was the brother-in-law of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent,[3] and had been a high-ranking Baba in the important Dimetoka Teḱe (now in Didymoteicho) when his sister (who was one of the sultan's wives) fell into disfavour with her husband. As a result, Ali Baba was banished to Kalkandelen (present-day Tetovo) at the outer fringes of the Ottoman Empire where he started his own Teḱe.[3]
Another version of the story goes that Ali Baba was an official of the Ottoman Empire who gave up his position in order to live the simple life of a Bektashi monk.[4] Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, angered by the departure of one of his favourite officials, yelled after Ali as he departed Istanbul, ‘‘If you will be a fool, then go.’’ Sersem, the old Turkish for ‘fool’, became Ali Baba's nickname thereafter.[3]
Whichever is the true story (the
The present-day buildings were built at the end of the 18th century by Rexhep Pasha, also a dervish, whose tomb lies next to Sersem's in the teḱe mausoleum. Not all the buildings are still standing today; in the courtyard was originally built to house the sick daughter of Abdurrahman Pasha.[3] The reception inn is still in disrepair, although the library is being refurbished. One of the buildings has been turned into a Sunni mosque, but the inns around the Bektashi graveyard have been preserved for the Baba.[3]
The Teke in Tetovo remained the seat of the Bektashi until 1912 when the Ottomans were driven out of Macedonia. Although the teḱe saw a small revival between 1941 and 1945, the lands were taken as state property during Yugoslav times and made into a hotel and museum. In recent years, however, the Bektashi order has regained access to the teḱe and the site is being slowly refurbished. Although in considerable disrepair it is still the largest and most well-preserved teḱe in the western Balkans.[3]
Arabati Baba controversy
In 2002, a group of armed members of the
In March 2008, there were reports that the ICM members squatting on the facility grounds have taken control of additional buildings, have been intimidating visitors to the tekke, and have discharged their weapons on the grounds.[6]
Images
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The Harabati Baba Tekke, a traditionally Bektashi Sufi lodge
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Arabati Baba Teḱe
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Shadervan of Arabati Baba Teḱe
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Arabati Baba Teḱe
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The house of Fatima daughter of Rexhep Pasha in Arabati Baba Tekke
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Mejdan of Arabati Baba Tekke.
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The entry of Arabati Baba Tekke
See also
- Dergah
- Zawiyya
- Alevi
Notes
- ^ The Macedonian Tendency: Bulgarians About Travel in Tetovo, Macedonia
- ^ "CEEOL - Error".
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84162-395-5. Retrieved 2013-02-26.
- ^ "Balkan Travellers - Tito, Teto and Some Troubled Tourism Await You in Tetovo, Macedonia". Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2008-03-16.
- ^ a b Muslims in Macedoniagreekhelsinki.gr Archived 2015-11-06 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "WahhabiWatch". Archived from the original on 2007-10-20. Retrieved 2008-03-14.