The tekke was originally built in 1538 around the türbe of dervish Sersem Ali Baba [sq].

[2] The monks claim the tower was the last home of a high-ranking Albanian named Roxalana, who died of tuberculosis there.

[1] Due to its striking architecture, the Arabati Baba Tekke has become an iconic symbol of Tetovo, and is featured on its municipal coat of arms.

In 2002, a group of armed members of the Salafist, Islamic Community of Macedonia (ICM), the legally recognized organization which claims to represent all Muslims in Macedonia, invaded the Arabati Baba Tekke in an attempt to reclaim the tekke as a mosque, although the facility has never functioned as such.

Subsequently, the Bektashi community of Macedonia has sued the Macedonian government for failing to restore the tekke to the Bektashi community, pursuant to a law passed in the early 1990s returning property previously nationalised under the Yugoslav government.