Haji Bektash Wali: I saw the Friend in my dream

Photo: Bektashi Dervishes from Macedonia by Lę Ó Anton. The Bektashi Order, is named after the 13th century Alevi Wali (saint) Haji Bektash Veli from Khorasan, but founded by Balim Sultan.The order is mainly found throughout Anatolia and the Balkans, and was particularly strong in Albania, Bulgaria, and among Ottoman era Greek Muslims from the regions of Epirus, Crete and Macedonia. In addition to the spiritual teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, the Bektashi order was later significantly influenced during its formative period by the Hurufis (in the early 15th century), the Qalandariyya stream of Sufism, and to varying degrees the Shia beliefs circulating in Anatolia during the 14th to 16th centuries. The mystical practices and rituals of the Bektashi order were systematized and structured by Balım Sultan in the 16th century after which many of the order's distinct practices and beliefs took shape.