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This page is about Bektashiyya Takyeh. For Introduction to the Bektashi Order, see Bektashiyya.
Shrine and Takyeh of Haji Bektash Veli in Kirsehir, Turkey

Bektāshiyya Takyeh serves as a gathering place for Alevis and a center for rituals performed by dervishes of the Bektashiyya order. Governance of these takyehs falls under the order's highest authority, the khalifa, while property ownership is vested in the rank of Baba. Balim Sultan successfully expanded the network of takyehs by securing patronage from the Ottoman government. However, Sultan Mahmud II later ordered the destruction of these sites and executed their leaders (khalifas) in retaliation for Bektashi support of the Kalender Çelebi uprising. Following this suppression, Bektashis migrated to Egypt, Iraq, and Albania, leading to the establishment of numerous takyehs across the Balkans and contributing to the spread of Islam in the region.

Although takyehs reopened in Ottoman territories during the early 13th/19th century, the 1342/1924 law banning Sufi orders in Turkey forced their closure once more, prompting a Bektashi exodus to Albania. Subsequent communist rule in Albania saw the destruction of the order's takyehs and the execution of its leaders. Surviving Bektashis fled to the United States, where they established their first takyeh. The Haji Bektash Veli Takyeh in Turkey remains one of the oldest surviving examples.

Introduction and Status

Melkan Takyeh in Korçë, Albania

The term Bektashiyya Takyeh denotes a venue for public Alevi gatherings and a residence for dervishes of the Bektashiyya order.[1] In his travelogues describing Bektashi residences, Evliya Çelebi predominantly employs the term Takyeh.[2] Similarly, in Iran, the khanqahs of the Haydariyya, Qalandariyya, and Bektashiyya orders were referred to as takyehs.[3] Administrative oversight is the prerogative of the khalifa (the order's supreme authority), while the Baba holds responsibility for the takyeh's ownership and physical assets.[4]

Architecturally, a Bektashi takyeh comprises eight distinct sections (pantry, kitchen, bakery, guest house, stable, garden house, Dede's garden, and Balim house), which correspond to the twelve positions within the Sama'khana (ritual hall).[5] An axe, reminiscent of that wielded by Abu Muslim al-Khurasani, hangs on the wall as a symbol of patience and asceticism.[6] The Sama'khana (place of Dhikr) features tablets inscribed with the names of the Shi'a Imams (a), and access is strictly limited to members of the order.[7] Key observances include mourning rituals during the first ten days of Muharram, culminating in the consumption of a ceremonial dish known as "Ashura" on the tenth day.[8]

Within Ottoman territories, the Bektashiyya adopted aspects of the state religion to protect and consolidate their takyehs. By instructing dervishes to observe the tenets of Sunni Islam[9] and incorporating elements of Christian custom and theology,[10] they facilitated the order's infiltration of the Janissary corps[11] and the propagation of Islam among Christians in Ottoman-controlled lands.[12] Following the Bektashi migration to the Balkans, numerous takyehs were founded,[13] most notably in Blagaj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, adjacent to the tomb of the Bektashi sheikh Sari Saltik.[14] These institutions played a pivotal role in the local population's conversion to Islam.[15]

History and Developments

Scholars note that the construction of Bektashi takyehs proliferated within Ottoman domains starting in the early 8th/14th century.[16] Recognizing the order's political influence, Ottoman sultans established numerous takyehs for the Bektashiyya[17] and supported them with endowments.[18] Balim Sultan (787/1385–922/1516), a primary architect of the Bektashi order,[19] promoted the settlement of celibate members from religious tribes in the takyehs to ensure their prosperity,[20] eventually making celibacy and service within the takyeh prerequisites for attaining the rank of dervish.[21]

Sari Saltik Takyeh in Blagaj, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Bektashis held significant sway within the Janissary corps, a pillar of the Ottoman military. However, their involvement in a revolt against the state in 1241/1826[22] prompted Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1789–1839) to order the destruction of Bektashi takyehs and the execution or exile of their khalifas.[23] This purge is historically known as the 'Vaka-i Hayriye' (The Auspicious Incident).[24] Following this suppression, Bektashis relocated to the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, and particularly to Albania in the Balkans.[25]

Bektashiyya takyehs experienced a resurgence in Turkey during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz (1293/1876).[26] However, under the presidency of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938), a 1924 law banning Sufi activities forced the order to transfer its center from Anatolia to Albania.[27] The order faced further persecution in Albania under Enver Hoxha, whose government banned its activities in 1363/1944. Consequently, fifty Bektashi takyehs were demolished, five khalifas were executed,[28] and many adherents fled to the United States. There, the Albanian community established the first American takyeh in Michigan in 1371/1952.[29] Following the collapse of the communist regime in 1409/1989, Bektashi takyehs resumed operations in Albania.[30] Today, active Bektashi takyehs can be found in both Egypt and Albania.[31]

Location of Bektashiyya Takyeh in the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (a)

Some Bektashi Takyehs

The oldest extant Bektashi takyeh is reportedly located in the Kırşehir province (near Ankara), where a modest takyeh stood at the time of Haji Bektash Veli's death.[32] Sultan Bayezid I (805/1403) later erected a lead-covered dome over Haji Bektash's tomb, and Sultan Murad II (855/1451) added an adjacent khanqah and Mosque.[33]

Qasr al-Ain Takyeh in Cairo
  • Takyeh of the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (a): Located north of the al-Ra's Mosque on the western side of the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (a). It was demolished during the expansion of the shrine's courtyard and replaced by a guest house.[34]
  • Abd al-Mu'min Baba Takyeh: Situated in Karbala within the Holy Shrine of Imam al-Husayn (a), east of the Bab al-Qibla. Resident dervishes were traditionally responsible for lighting the shrine.[35] In the late Ottoman period, it was renamed the Naqshbandiyya Takyeh before being destroyed during recent courtyard expansions.[36]
  • Ghuslkhana Takyeh: Located in the Qatlgah cemetery at the northern corner of the Holy Shrine of Imam al-Rida (a).[37] It was destroyed in 1930 by order of Reza Khan. A significant portion of the site was incorporated into the shrine's traffic circle, while the remainder was landscaped and named Bagh-i Radwan.[38]
  • Qasr al-Ain Takyeh: Located in the al-Muqattam area of Cairo, Egypt; this structure remains standing.[39]

Notes

  1. ↑ Pīrzāda Nāʾīnī, Safarnāma-yi Ḥājī Pīrzāda, 1343 Sh, vol. 2, p. 120.
  2. ↑ Çelebi, Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi, 1314 AH, vol. 1, p. 220; vol. 2, pp. 17, 133; vol. 3, p. 449.
  3. ↑ Mudarrisī Chahārdihī, Khāksār wa Ahl-i Ḥaqq, 1392 Sh, vol. 1, p. 185.
  4. ↑ Birge, The Bektashi Order of Dervishes, 1994, p. 166.
  5. ↑ Subḥānī & Anṣārī, "Ḥājī Baktāsh Walī wa ṭarīqa-yi Baktāshiyya", pp. 505, 546.
  6. ↑ Amīnī, Ṣūfīgarī, 1393 Sh, vol. 1, p. 8.
  7. ↑ Pīrzāda Nāʾīnī, Safarnāma-yi Ḥājī Pīrzāda, vol. 2, p. 123.
  8. ↑ Gölpınarlı, Taṣawwuf dar yaksad pursish wa pāsukh, 1392 Sh, pp. 531-532.
  9. ↑ Browne, Az Saʿdī tā Jāmī, 1339 Sh, p. 516.
  10. ↑ Zarrīnkūb, Arzish-i mīrāth-i Ṣūfiyya, 1394 Sh, p. 84.
  11. ↑ Karamustafa, Tārīkh-i kuhan-i Qalandariyya, 1395 Sh, p. 181.
  12. ↑ Al-Shaybī, Tashayyuʿ wa taṣawwuf tā āghāz-i sada-yi duwāzdahum-i hijrī, 1387 Sh, p. 359.
  13. ↑ Lewisohn, Mīrāth-i taṣawwuf, 1384 Sh, vol. 1, p. 275.
  14. ↑ Imāmī Khūʾī, Turkān, Islām wa ʿAlawīgarī Baktāshīgarī dar Ānātūlī, 1391 Sh, p. 142.
  15. ↑ Dānishnāma-yi Jahān-i Islām, vol. 3, p. 651.
  16. ↑ Rafīq, Rāfiḍīgarī wa Baktāshīgarī, 1372 Sh, p. 67.
  17. ↑ Nafīsī, Sarchashma-yi taṣawwuf dar Īrān, 1383 Sh, p. 210.
  18. ↑ Hammer-Purgstall, Tārīkh-i Impirātūrī-yi ʿUthmānī, 1387 Sh, vol. 1, p. 147.
  19. ↑ Sāmī, Qāmūs al-aʿlām, 1306 Sh, vol. 2, p. 1332.
  20. ↑ Zarrīnkūb, Arzish-i mīrāth-i Ṣūfiyya, 1394 Sh, p. 97.
  21. ↑ Subḥānī & Anṣārī, "Ḥājī Baktāsh Walī wa ṭarīqat-i Baktāshiyya", pp. 527, 529.
  22. ↑ Goodwin, Tārīkh-i miʿmārī-yi ʿUthmānī, 1388 Sh, p. 627.
  23. ↑ Shaw, Tārīkh-i Impirātūrī-yi ʿUthmānī wa Turkiya-yi jadīd, 1370 Sh, vol. 2, p. 54.
  24. ↑ Jaʿfariyān, Aṭlas-i Shīʿa, 1387 Sh, p. 6.
  25. ↑ Lapidus, Tārīkh-i jawāmiʿ-i Islāmī, 1381 Sh, p. 439.
  26. ↑ Subḥānī & Anṣārī, "Ḥājī Baktāsh Walī wa ṭarīqat-i Baktāshiyya", p. 511.
  27. ↑ Subḥānī & Anṣārī, "Ḥājī Baktāsh Walī wa ṭarīqat-i Baktāshiyya", p. 511.
  28. ↑ Vertovec & Peach, Islām dar Urūpā: siyāsathā-yi dīn wa ummat, 1380 Sh, p. 94.
  29. ↑ Ghulāmī, Tārīkh-i Islām dar Ālbānī, 1385 Sh, p. 73.
  30. ↑ Muʿāwinat-i Bayn al-Milalī-yi Sāzmān-i Farhang wa Irtibāṭāt, Musalmānān-i Urūpā wa Āmrīkā, 1386 Sh, p. 107.
  31. ↑ Sirrī Bābā, Al-Risāla al-Aḥmadiyya, p. 6.
  32. ↑ Subḥānī & Anṣārī, Ḥājī Baktāsh Walī wa ṭarīqat-i Baktāshiyya, p. 525.
  33. ↑ Subḥānī & Anṣārī, Ḥājī Baktāsh Walī wa ṭarīqat-i Baktāshiyya, p. 525.
  34. ↑ ʿAlawī, Rāhnamā-yi muṣawwar-i safar-i ziyāratī-yi ʿIrāq, 1396 Sh, p. 120.
  35. ↑ Köprülü, Rīshahā-yi afsānahā-yi marbūṭ bih Baktāsh Walī, 1364 Sh, p. 97.
  36. ↑ Āl Ṭuʿma, Tārīkh marqad al-Ḥusayn wa al-ʿAbbās, 1416 AH, p. 171.
  37. ↑ Iʿtimād al-Salṭana, Maṭlaʿ al-shams, 1362 Sh, vol. 2, p. 417.
  38. ↑ Muʾtaman, Tārīkh-i Āstān-i Quds, 1386 Sh, p. 215.
  39. ↑ Dāyirat al-maʿārif-i Fārsī, vol. 1, p. 436.

References

  • Āl Ṭuʿma, Salmān Hādī, Tārīkh marqad al-Ḥusayn wa al-ʿAbbās, Beirut, Muʾassisa al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1416 AH.
  • ʿAlawī, Sayyid Aḥmad, Rāhnamā-yi muṣawwar-i safar-i ziyāratī-yi ʿIrāq, Tehran, Nashr-i Maʿrūf, 1396 Sh.
  • Al-Shaybī, Kāmil Muṣṭafā, Tashayyuʿ wa taṣawwuf tā āghāz-i sada-yi duwāzdahum-i hijrī, trans. Dhakāwatī Qarāguzlū, Tehran, 1387 Sh.
  • Amīnī, Amīr, Ṣūfīgarī, Tehran, Intishārāt-i Bahman Bornā, 1393 Sh.
  • Birge, John Kingsley, The Bektashi Order of Dervishes, London, Luzac Oriental, 1994.
  • Browne, Edward, Az Saʿdī tā Jāmī, trans. ʿAlī Aṣghar Ḥikmat, Tehran, Dānishgāh-i Tihrān, 1339 Sh.
  • Çelebi, Evliya, Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi, Istanbul, Ṭābiʿī Aḥmad Jawdat, 1st ed., 1314 AH.
  • Ghulāmī, Dāwūd, Tārīkh-i Islām dar Ālbānī, in Bālkān dar āyīna-yi farhang, under supervision of Abū al-Ḥasan Khalaj Munfarid, Tehran, Intishārāt-i Bayn al-Milalī-yi Al-Hudā, 1385 Sh.
  • Gölpınarlı, Abdülbaki, Taṣawwuf dar yaksad pursish wa pāsukh, trans. Tawfīq Hāshimpūr Subḥānī, Tehran, Nashr-i Gustara, 1392 Sh.
  • Goodwin, Godfrey, Tārīkh-i miʿmārī-yi ʿUthmānī, trans. Ardashīr Ishrāqī, Tehran, Farhangistān-i Hunar, 1388 Sh.
  • Hammer-Purgstall, Joseph von, Tārīkh-i Impirātūrī-yi ʿUthmānī, trans. Mīrzā Zakī ʿAlīābādī, Tehran, Asāṭīr, 1387 Sh.
  • Iʿtimād al-Salṭana, Muḥammad Ḥasan Khān, Maṭlaʿ al-shams, ed. Tīmūr Burhān Līmūdahī, Tehran, Farhang Sarā, 1362 Sh.
  • Imāmī Khūʾī, Muḥammad Taqī, Turkān, Islām wa ʿAlawīgarī Baktāshīgarī dar Ānātūlī, Tehran, Pizhūhishgāh-i ʿUlūm-i Insānī wa Muṭālaʿāt-i Farhangī, 1391 Sh.
  • Jaʿfariyān, Rasūl, Aṭlas-i Shīʿa, Tehran, Sāzmān-i Jughrāfiyā-yi Nīrūhā-yi Musallaḥ, 1387 Sh.
  • Karamustafa, Ahmet T., Tārīkh-i kuhan-i Qalandariyya, trans. Marḍiya Sulaymānī, Tehran, Farhang-i Muʿāṣir, 1395 Sh.
  • Köprülü, Mehmet Fuat, Rīshahā-yi afsānahā-yi marbūṭ bih Baktāsh Walī, trans. Muḥammad Taqī Imāmī, Tehran, Gustara-yi Tārīkh wa Adabiyāt, 1364 Sh.
  • Lapidus, Ira M., Tārīkh-i jawāmiʿ-i Islāmī, trans. ʿAlī Bakhtiyārīzāda, Tehran, Iṭṭilāʿāt, 1381 Sh.
  • Lewisohn, Leonard, Mīrāth-i taṣawwuf, trans. Majd al-Dīn Kayvānī, Tehran, Nashr-i Markaz, 1384 Sh.
  • Muʿāwinat-i Bayn al-Milalī-yi Sāzmān-i Farhang wa Irtibāṭāt, Musalmānān-i Urūpā wa Āmrīkā, Tehran, Intishārāt-i Bayn al-Milalī-yi Al-Hudā, 1386 Sh.
  • Mudarrisī Chahārdihī, Nūr al-Dīn, Khāksār wa Ahl-i Ḥaqq, Tehran, Ishrāqī, 1392 Sh.
  • Muʾtaman, ʿAlī, Tārīkh-i Āstān-i Quds, Mashhad, Intishārāt-i Āstān-i Quds-i Raḍawī, 1386 Sh.
  • Muṣāḥib, Ghulām Ḥusayn, Dāyirat al-maʿārif-i Fārsī, Tehran, Intishārāt-i Muʾassisa-yi Franklīn.
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  • Vertovec, Steven & Peach, Ceri, Islām dar Urūpā: siyāsathā-yi dīn wa ummat, trans. Kāwūs Sayyid Imāmī, Tehran, Markaz-i Bāzshināsī-yi Islām wa Īrān, 1380 Sh.
  • Zarrīnkūb, ʿAbd al-Ḥusayn, Arzish-i mīrāth-i Ṣūfiyya, Tehran, Amīrkabīr, 1394 Sh.

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