Background
Kaygusuz Abdal was born in or near to Alaiye (modern Alanya, Antalya Province of Turkey).
Kaygusuz Abdal was born in or near to Alaiye (modern Alanya, Antalya Province of Turkey).
But instead of politics he chose to be a dervish.
In the 14th century Alaiye was the capital of the small Alaiye beylik (principality). His name was Alaattin Gaybi and Kaygusuz Abdal was his pseudonym. According to tradition he was bey"s son (ie, prince).
His tutor was Abdal Musa.
Details of his life and travels are ambiguous. Most of the stories attributed to him are not reliable.
He travelled to Mecca for Hajj. He was also visited Damascus, Najaf and Karbala.
There are unreliable accounts of his visits to cities in the Balkans like Yambol, Plovdiv (now both in Bulgaria), Bitola (now in the Republic of Macedonia) and Edirne (now in Turkey).
In Egypt he gained the title Abdullah Magaravi ("God"s servant living in a cave") after spending several years in seclusion.