The tomb of the 13th-century Muslim mystic Sari Saltuk (also known as Sari Saltik) in Babadag, northern Dobruja—an ethnically diverse region where the Danube meets the sea—is widely regarded as the birthplace of his influential cult in the Balkans. The small town of Babadag, meaning “Mountain of the Baba [a title for spiritual leaders],” was once a significant center of an Ottoman administrative region (sanjak) and remained under Ottoman control until its annexation by Romania in 1878.
Saltuk, who died in 1297–98, is celebrated for his pivotal role in the Islamization of the Balkans. For over seven centuries, his tomb, along with others attributed to him across the region, served as shared sacred spaces where people of different faiths gathered for worship. However, this blending of religious practices and Saltuk’s tendency to blur confessional boundaries often provoked the disapproval of the ulema (Islamic scholars), who viewed his unconventional spiritual practices as problematic.