The main building and tekke
In the entrance to the tekke - Imam Ali and Haji Bektash
The tombs of leaders of the Bektashi community
Haji Bektash
The future Bektashi cultural centre
Haxhi Dede Reshat Bardhi
And now the end is near and so i face nanananana... Never did like that crappy song. But it's true nevertheless. Tomorrow in the wee hours of the morning we will be heading for the airport for the last time. I suppose it was too much to expect that I could have kept this going while getting ready to leave. So apologies for the lack of postings over the last weeks. This is post number 380 something so I suppose one post every two days is not a bad average. There were probably 380 more in my head or scribbled down on scraps of paper, but many of them are perhaps best left there. I suppose I should be penning - or typing - my final thoughts and reflections on two years in Tirana, but right now I don't have any. Maybe in a month or two though I might come back with something. Thanks to all of you who have read this blog - especially those of you who have become regulars. Thanks also for linking and thanks to all who left comments. As for the other stars of the blog, Bella now has h...
Comments
Nick: Alwyin is doing what any good British brigadier would: scope out the local culture, and use it to divide and conquer (LoL)
heheh
But, I read somewhere that the Bektashi were considered so bizarre by some muslim scholars (apparently outside of Albania) that they considered them altogether outside of islam. I also read that they include pagan and christian elements in their religion. Alwyn do you know this to be true? Was their creator that black jewish messiah or something.
However, in retrospect heretics are always more logical, nicer, and fun than the orthodox.
So you can tell that 'outside' muslim scholar to shove it.
here, poke some fun at him too:
http://www.bektashi.net/beliefs-jokes1.html
Sunni's don't like Bektashi the same way they don't like Shia, because Bektashism has a lot in common with Shia Islam.
As far as I know the Iranians do try to get some leverage with the Bektashi but with limited success.
There are no theo-dollars: that's why the Bektashi are the only religious community here not building grand new mosques/churches all over the place.
The only outside source of funding that I know of is Bektashis in the US.
Regarding Shabbetai Zevi (Zvi)it's all very obscure but it seems more likely that bektashi's influenced him - especially after his conversion to islam - than the other way round.
Do they incorporate traditions from other religions? Yes. The same way all religions do - not generally as doctrine but as practice.
Look out for more info in the new edition of IYP guide to Tirana