Abbas Tomori for Android

Bektashi celebrate the 25th anniversary of the annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Abbas ibn Ali (Abaz Aliu) on Mount Tomorr in Skrapar. The yearly event was prohibited during the communist regime.

Abbas Ali is the son of Imam Ali, the first Imam of Shia Muslims and the fourth Caliph of Sunni Muslims.

The Bektashi are an Islamic Sufi order founded in the 15th century. The order was banned throughout the Ottoman Empire in 1826, after which the Bektashi leadership went into exile in Albania and established its headquarters in Tirana. About 20% of Albanian Muslims are said to belong to the order, although exact figures are not available.

The shrine of Abaz Aliu was built first in 1908 and was destroyed by Greek military forces in 1914. It was rebuilt in 1916.