Every year, from the 20th to the 25th of August, Tomorri Mountain becomes the spiritual place for thousands of pilgrims, who worship their saint Abaz Ali. Even this year, even though we are in a time of pandemic, Bektashi believers and not only have not forgotten the sacred pilgrimage to Mount Tomorri.

Unafraid of the Covid-19 virus and believing in God, pilgrims climb Mount Tomorri every year to follow sacred rituals and visit the rare cult sites, the Tomb and the Tekke on the highest peaks of Albania.

According to tradition, the pilgrims arrive at the highest point of Mount Tomorr, where in a small tekke rests Saint Abaz Ali, the found brother of the Prophet Muhammad. Upon their arrival on 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 Mount Tomorri, which is located 2416 meters above sea level.

Although it was thought that the pandemic would deter pilgrims from becoming part of this pilgrimage, since the 18th, which marked the departure of the first pilgrims to the mountain, their number to date has reached about 400 thousand, while the festivities will end on Tuesday evening. Every pilgrim who becomes part of this festival performs on the mountain the centuries-old rites of the Bektashi 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 sacrifice of the lamb is the special ritual of this feast, where as a sign of purification after the sacrifice, the believers should smear their foreheads with the blood of the newly born lamb, perform the prayer and then the meat of the sacrificed lamb is roasted and divided among the pilgrims.

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.