The timber arcades
Fine carving and columns.
Vaurien — CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Делфина — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Adam Jones, Ph.D. — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Basak — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mickey Mystique — CC BY-SA 4.0
Arabati Baba Tekke is an Ottoman Bektashi complex in Tetovo, with broad gardens and fine timber buildings behind a long stone wall. It is a symbol of the city, shown on its municipal coat of arms, and among its quietest places, especially loved by admirers of Ottoman architecture. It began in 1538 around the tomb of the dervish Sersem Ali Baba, and an endowment by Recep Pasha in 1799 established the present grounds, though sources differ on the dates of some buildings. Its status has long been disputed between religious communities, so a visit goes most easily if you stay quiet and ask before entering any building. You come in through a gate topped by a timber room and find arcades, arched facades and carved balconies, along with a small tower with blue panels. The garden holds a large stone fountain, tombs and a graveyard of old headstones. The woodwork in some of the arcades is among the finest things here. It is 800 m in a straight line from the Painted Mosque, about a quarter of an hour on foot. A resident may show you the tombs if you happen to meet one, one visitor reports. It is a place of worship, so dress modestly and ask before taking pictures, particularly at tombs and graves. The gardens are loveliest in spring and autumn.
Fine carving and columns.
Large, in the garden.
Topped by a timber room.
Southwest of central Tetovo
A complex of a dervish order, here Bektashi, with tombs, lodgings and gardens, rather than only a mosque.
Perhaps, if you meet someone who can show you. Ask politely, as no hours are published.
