Abdal Musa, who partook in the conquests of the Ottoman Emirate and had many disciples, is one of the most important figures of Bektashism. He is known as Pir-i Sani, i.e. "the Second Sage". He established his tekke at Tekke Village in the Elmali kaza in Teke Sanjak, the area known as Teke during the period of the Emirates, and as Lycia in antiquity. Following the Turkish conquests, many Turkmen and Yoruk groups were settled in the Teke region, and Sunni Islam was greatly surpassed by Bektashism. The extent of the lands in Elmali, Kas, Kalkan, Finike and Korkuteli endowed to theAbdal Musa Dergahi reveals the great spread of the fame of Abdal Musa, particularly in the central Teke region. 

The awqaf of this tekke and the income from them, which obviously whetted the appetite of many people, witnessed some interventions, especially after the abolition of Bektashism. The tekke's administration was limited to the keeping of the turbe (shrine) and given to Naqshibandi sheikhs, while its endowed land, already given out to tax-farming (iltizam), passed into the hands of the local dignitaries. 

However, because of requests from the first and only Mawlawi sheikh of Abdal Musa Dergahi, Ismail Hakki Efendi, who complained that the allocations of a tarbe-keeper were not enough to maintain the needs of such a large tekke, the awqaf administration was returned to the tekke's sheikh. When the local dignitaries lost these endowed lands in tax-farming, significant clashes broke out between them and the tekke's sheikh regarding the right of use of these lands. Court cases culminating in alleged murder lasted many years. The defence by Ismail Hakki Efendi during the court case caught the attention of the authorities, and the dergah and its awqaf came under increased scrutiny. The position of zaviyedar (zawiyah-keeper) was abolished after Ismail Hakki Efendi's death but was revived by his son Huseyin Husnu Efendi during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Abdulaziz. Thereafter, the struggle between Bektashis and Naqshibandis, especially in the latter half of the nineteenth century, came to a head at Abdal Musa Dergahi. Although the struggle was concluded in favour of the Naqshibandis, personages with the title of celebi, who claimed to be descendants of Abdal Musa, tried to get hold of the dergah's administration. 

On the one hand, these struggles for the Abdal Musa Dergahi were not one-sided; this power struggle not only had a religious aspect to it but also an economic one. On the other hand, the Naqshibandi sheikhs appointed to the tekke were blamed for keeping alive Bektashi beliefs.