The number of pilgrims who have become part of the pilgrimage to the holy Mountain of Tomorri this year has reached 600 thousand.

Arriving not only from Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia but also from many countries of the world, the pilgrims after spending a night on Mount Tomorri, have performed the rites of this holiday. Pilgrims have climbed as every year on Mount Tomorri, to follow sacred rituals and to visit the rare cult objects that are: Tomb and Teke which are located on the highest rocky peaks of Albania.

According to tradition, the pilgrims arrive at the highest point of Mount Tomorr, where in a small tekke rests the saint Abaz Ali, the found brother of the Prophet Muhammad. Upon their arrival in the mountain, the pilgrims set up tents in this holy place, performing not only the sacrificial feast but also climbing on foot the top of Tomorri Mountain, which is located 2416 meters above sea level.

Although it was thought that the pandemic would deter pilgrims this year from becoming part of this pilgrimage, since the 19th, which marked the departure of the first pilgrims to the mountain, their number until today, on the fifth day of the pilgrimage, has reached about 600 thousand, while the celebrations will end on Wednesday evening. Every pilgrim who becomes part of this festival performs on the mountain the centuries-old rites of the Bektashi faith for the feast of Abaz Ali, which include lighting candles in holy places, donating money near places of worship and sacrificing a sheep or lamb, the meat of which is baked on the spit and divided among the pilgrims.

The pilgrims who became part of this holiday this year say that, they come every year to Mount Tomorri to worship their saint Abaz Ali, to perform religious rites and to pray for more peace, kindness and prosperity in families Theirs. Declaring that every year they receive blessings from this holy place, the pilgrims wish each other more kindness and happiness in every family.

The Bektashi World Leader, Father Mondi, has stated from the Kulmak Tekke that the large influx of pilgrims to Tomorri Mountain was incredible this year, in pandemic times. "These days are all marked days as we go through a ten-day fast for the martyrs of Karbala who fell on the battlefield. There were 72 people who gave their lives, along with Imam Hyseni and Abaz Ali, who was the flag bearer of that battle. In these ten days we learned the sufferings of the prophets, from Adam to Muhammad, to the Karbala of Imam Husayn… they gave their lives to defend the truth. After the feast of Ashura, we are here in these holy days in Kulmak, where it is thought that Abaz Ali flew according to legend and we pray for him".

For the progress of the Holy Pilgrimage on Mount Tomorri and to ensure compliance with safety protocols due to Covid-19, the Local Police Directorate of Berat, has drafted since 19 August a detailed plan of measures, increasing controls and traffic police officers along both axes leading to the Kulmak Tekke on Mount Tomorri as well as the place where the pilgrimage takes place. Pilgrimage days on Mount Tomorri end on August 25, but the culmination of this holiday reaches on August 22 and 23.