TYPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BEKTASHI TEKKE IN ALBANIA

Bektashi shrines have been identified from a pattern that is articulated by the dome, the arch, the courtyard, the portal, and the tomb, shaping the architecture language of the Islamic place of worship worldwide. The Sufi ideology had a significant role in the occurring development on the usage of the traditional Islamic architecture using only the same elements of the mosque in the Bektashi shrine that according to this observation are transformed following the specificities of the particular social-economic and cultural context that each Bektashi community was allocated to. However, no research has directly addressed these changes. Thus the aim of this study is to examine and prove the existence of a clear pattern in the Albanian context whether or not the local context and social-economic factors have been the main reason that led to the introduction of these elements of the Bektashi shrine. This pattern has emerged and gradually developed as the major feature of the Bektashi formation and has facilitated several functions in the congregational Sufi-Muslim rituals. The research deploys the analyses from a typological way of research of sixteen (16) Bektashi case studies in Albania. Specifically, it will look at the form and spatial variety, which leads to the functionality of the space. Apart from that, this typological research will also show clearly the evolution of tekke architecture from the beginning of Islamic embracement in Albania. From there, the classification of types of Tekke design will be defined by analyzing the inner spatial composition and not just by looking at the external built forms. As a result, it is hoped that this paper will help innovate design solutions to the tekke designers and to Bektashi who will be using the facility.