Since the fall of socialism in Bulgaria, the lifting of atheistic policies and the increased tolerance towards minorities has resulted in the open use of numerous rural-based shrines (türbeler) of Bekta?i saints that function as cult centers for Turkish heterodox Bekta?i, Babai, and K?z?lba? communities who now share a common trans-regional Alevi identity. Adherents of these so-called “Alevi” communities make pilgrimage to the shrines, particularly for annual outdoor festivals (maye) honoring specific saints that include ritual sacrifice (kurban) and offerings to saints, and worship meetings led by religious elders (dedeler) that include the singing of sacred songs (nefesler) accompanied by the sacred folk lute (saz/ba?lama). The “open” nature of these celebrations has not affected the intimacy and regional diversity of formal rituals (cemler, ayinler) that are reserved for initiated individuals and typically held in private homes (muhabbet evi, cem evi) or more recently-built prayer houses (dergâh evi) situated close to a number of saints’ shrines where dervish lodges once stood. Since the 1990s, many young adults have mobilized spiritually and intellectually by immersing themselves in religious doctrines and rites and in the study of the mystical philosophy embedded in the nefesler that are sometimes referred to as “the Qur’an.” In addition, ties with related Alevi/Bekta?i culture in Turkey have been strengthened by daily exposure to Alevi TV broadcasts, increased communication with and support from Alevi/Bekta?i associations and foundations, and visits to major Alevi/Bektasi shrines and festivals in the Turkish motherland. Drawing from relevant literature (Zhelyaskova 1998; Gramatikova 2001; Aleksiev 2005; Mikov 2005; Markoff 2007) and focusing specifically on ethnographic research undertaken during 2006 and 2008 in the eastern Rhodope Mountains, this paper will illustrate how Bekta?i and Babai spirituality, identity, rituals and ritual space are gradually being transformed and revitalized through changes in the Bulgarian sociopolitical climate and increasing ties to a transnational Alevi/Bekta?i communicative network. One striking example of change is the presence of an impressive, modernized, sacred space for holding collective regional Bekta?i/Babai rituals in a modern, newly-constructed hotel that towers over the central Otman Baba türbe in the Eastern Rhodopes. The analysis will also investigate ways in which this architectural gesture and strategy will not only remove Bekta?i and Babai rituals from their more exclusive contexts, but perhaps lead to the standardization and homogenization of local sacred traditions and ritual practices as is the case with urban Alevism in Turkey. Audio-visual materials will accompany the presentation.