The Zall Tekke () or Asim 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 ...

teqe in

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...

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 ...

. It is a

Cultural Monument of Albania In Albania, a cultural monument () is a construction or work of cultural, historical and artistic value that is built in a visible space, made in memory of important events or prominent people. Cultural monuments are usually under state protection ...

History

Seyyid Muhammed Asim Baba of Üsküdar (

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) founded the tekke in 1780. It is also known as the ''Teqeja e Zallit'' (Gravel Tekke) or as the "Tekke of Pebbles" due to its location at the side of a river bed that is usually dry. The tekke was administered by the following babas. *Asim Baba from 1780 to 1796 *Hasan Baba Turku from 1796 to 1798 *Sulejman Baba of Gjirokastra from 1798 to 1806 *Ali Baba Gega from 1806 to 1830 *Haxhi Jahja Baba of Kruja from 1830 to 1836 *Ibrahim Baba Turku from 1836 to 1846 *Hysejn Baba

Elbasan Elbasan ( , ; sq-definite, Elbasani, ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in centr ...

i from 1845 to 1861 *Ali Haqi Baba of

from 1861 to 1907 *Selim Ruhi Baba of

from 1907 to 1944 The tekke also hosted a library with books and manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and later also Albanian. For 3 years during the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

and also during

World War I 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 ...

, Greek soldiers were stationed at the tekke, which did not have any babas and dervishes at the time due to the wars. The baba and dervishes later returned, and the tekke was restored in 1916.

References

{{coord, 40.0671, N, 20.1492, E, source:wikidata, display=title Cultural Monuments of Albania Buildings and structures in Gjirokastër Ottoman architecture in Albania Sufi tekkes in Albania Bektashi tekkes Ottoman mausoleums