The Tekke of Frashër () or Nasibî Tâhir Baba Tekke is a

Bektashi Bektashism (, ) is a tariqa, Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the wali, ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The ...

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

and Albanian Bektashi tekke founded in 1781 and registered

Cultural Monument A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage registe ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

, located in

Frashër Frashër (; sq-definite, Frashëri) is a village and a former municipality in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Përmet. The population at the 2011 census wa ...

Gjirokastër County Gjirokastër County () is one of the 12 counties of Albania. The total population in 2023 was 60,013, in an area of 2884 km2. Its capital is the city Gjirokastër. Administrative divisions Until 2000, Gjirokastër County was subdivided into thre ...

in southern

. The tekke was crucial to the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian ...

, particularly in the nationalist movements of the late 19th century, and it was one of the wealthiest and revered tekkes in Albania.

History

Takya A Sufi lodge is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood or ''tariqa'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education. They include structures also known as ''khānaqāh'', ''zāwiya'', ''ribāṭ'' ...

s (or 's in Turkish) were centers of

Islamic Mysticism Sufism ( or ) is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and ...

and theology which provided a popular alternative to normative

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. The tekke was founded at the time of

Ali Pasha Tepelena Ali Pasha (1740 – 24 January 1822), commonly known as Ali Pasha of Yanina or Ali Pasha of Tepelena, was an Albanian ruler who served as Ottoman pasha of the Pashalik of Yanina, a large part of western Rumelia. Under his rule, it acquired a h ...

. Nasibi Tahir Babai, a local poet and mystic, founded the tekke in either 1815 or 1825 upon his return from his travels in the Middle East. After his death in 1835 - upon which a tyrbe was constructed in his honour and subsequently became an important pilgrimage site - his son Jusuf Skënderasi took over. The tekke became well known in Southern Albania. During the era of Baba Alushi (1846-1902), the tekke would become not only a center of

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

mysticism, but also a stronghold of Albanian nationalism. It would affect also the work of future figures of the

Şemseddin Sami Frashëri, and his brothers Naim and Abdyl. On 30 May 1878, the

Albanian Committee of Janina The Albanian Committee of Janina (, ), was an Albanians, Albanian organization of the 19th century with the aim of defending Albanian rights. The Albanian Committee of Janina was formed in May 1877 in Janina then a city of the Ottoman Empire in th ...

held a meeting led by Baba Alushi and

Abdyl Frashëri Abdyl Dume bey Frashëri (, or ''Abdullah Hüsni''; 1 June 1839 – 23 October 1892) was an Ottoman Albanian civil servant, politician during the First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire, and one of the first Albanian political ideologues ...

, as a countermeasure for the decisions of the

Treaty of San Stefano The 1878 Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano (; Peace of San-Stefano, ; Peace treaty of San-Stefano, or ) was a treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. It was signed at San Ste ...

. The meeting came out with several demands towards the Great Powers, which would serve as basis for the soon-to-come

League of Prizren The League of Prizren (), officially the League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation (), was an Albanian political organization that was officially founded on June 10, 1878 in the old town of Prizren in the Kosovo Vilayet of th ...

. The tekke served as a headquarters during the League's existence (1878-1881) and many follow up meetings were held there.Teqeja e Frashërit - Vatër e zjarrtë (in Albanian), World Bektashi Headquarters
During this period, the tekke served as a centre for the distribution of Albanian-language books (which was outlawed by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

) and aided in spreading Albanian nationalist sentiment throughout the country, particularly during the leadership of Baba Alush. Baba Alush was followed by Baba Hysejn and Baba Zejnel Abedin (died in 1913) from Backa in the region of

Skrapar Skrapar ( sq-definite, Skrapari) is a Municipalities of Albania, municipality in Berat County, Southern Albania, southern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Bogovë, Çepan, Çorovodë, Gjerbës, Leshnjë, Po ...

; Baba Zejnel even gave refuge to Albanian freedom fighter Mihal Grameno and his fighters, dressing them up as dervish novices to disguise them from Ottoman Turkish troops who raided the tekke. During his stay, Grameno recorded that the tekke was superbly clean and orderly under the leadership of Baba Zejnel Abedin, who was described to be a true holy man who worked to help the poor. Both Muslims and Christians deeply respected Baba Abedin, and the 15-16 dervishes who served under him were also well-educated patriots who were crucial to the

by functioning as emissaries and preachers of Albanian national sentiment. During 1909–1910, the tekke contributed in spreading the Albanian schools and education in the area, and had about twenty dervishes prior to the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It was destroyed by the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

forces of Zografos in June 1914. It was reconstructed with the contribution of Albanian-Americans in 1923. At the First National Congress of the Bektashi, held on 14–17 January 1921 in the Teqe of Prishta in the

region, the tekke of Frashër was represented by Baba Mustafa. When the Albanian Bektashi Order was reformed in 1930, Frashër became one of the six new Bektashi administrative districts of Albania (called a ''gjyshata''). Gjysh Mustafa Qerezi functioned as the leader from 1930 to 1933, followed by Gjysh Murat in 1934–1941. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the Communist takeover of Albania, the baba of the tekke - Baba Mehmet Zykaj - was arrested and thereby imprisoned for nearly 15 years until his death in 1959. Frashër became the Bektashi center for

Përmet Përmet () is a List of cities and towns in Albania, town and Municipalities of Albania, municipality in Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. The municipality of Përmet consists of the administrative units of Çarçovë, Frashër, Petran, Qend� ...

area in 1942, seat of the prefecture of Vlora in 1945 and then the sub-prefecture of Berat, but lost its status as a Gjyshata in around 1950. It was a ''Gjyshatë Nderi'' (Honorific Gjyshatë) in 1962. During the prohibition of religions from 1967 to 1991 in

Communist Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, () was the Marxist-Leninist state that existed in Albania from 10 January 1946 to the 29 April 1991. Originally founded as the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1976, it was governed by the Pa ...

it stopped functioning, but was not destroyed due to being strongly associated with the patriotic deeds of

and the

. The tekke was restored in 1995 and has a feast day on the fifth of September.

Bektashi clerics who have served

*Baba Tahir Nasibi Skënderasi 1815 - 1835 *Jusuf Skënderasi 1835 - 1846 *Baba Alushi 1846 - 1902 *Baba Abedini Ibro 1903 - 1913 *Baba Sheme 1913 - 1929 *Baba Mustafa Qerezi 1930 - 1933 *Baba Murati 1934 -1941 *Baba Abaz Hilmi 1942 – 1945 *Baba Mehmet Zykaj 1945 –1959 *Baba Dervish Xhemal Shkëmbi 1960 - 1967 *Përparim Skënderasi 1995 - (as administrator)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teqe Of Frasher Cultural Monuments of Albania Buildings and structures in Përmet Religious buildings and structures completed in 1815 Sufi tekkes in Albania Bektashi tekkes