It's Ramadan

Ramadan (or Ramazan in Turkish) was always very special for me in Germany. I had rarely dinner at home and was always with friends. We had iftar (the Ramadan dinner) together, prayed and read Qur'an, chatted and had a lot of fun.

I miss that a lot but I am also very happy to be with my family after so many years, 17 to be exact. This Ramadan is also special because it is the first time for many years that I don't have to work. I do have a lot of work online but I can arrange my schedule in such a way that Ramadan has priority. I'm enjoying this a lot.

Ramadan customs

During Ramadan, Muslim have dinner and a pre-dawn meal. In the pre-alarm clock era, a Ramadan davulcusu (drummer) walked through the streets and woke people up in time for the pre-dawn meal. These drummers still exist and I think it is a nice tradition to keep. However, some people would rather see them go. They argue that not everybody wants to wake up for the pre-dawn meal and there are alarm clocks for those who do. There is also some conflict with modern technology as the drums often set up car alarms, which makes the wake-up call even more effective ;) but certainly less pleasurable. The drummers don't have an easy job, having to get up early and walking the streets every day no matter what the weather conditions are. Here is a nice traditional picture of a drummer. Ah, and in the 21th century, we have an online drummer now.

During Ramadan, bakers make a special Ramazan pidesi (bread) which tastes delicious but after a day of fasting even the simplest of food tastes delicious :)

There is also a traditional Ramadan prayer in the mosque called taraweeh. This is not an obligatory prayer but during it often the complete Qur'an is recited within the month of Ramadan. It can be performed at home, too, and this is what I often did with my friends.

Traditionally, people invite each other for iftar and breaking fast is really so much nicer with friends, family or neighbours around. Sadly, modern life style seems to have taken it's toll once again in Turkey and there are less of these visits now, which was truly shocking for me because as I said at the beginning, we always got together for these meals in Germany.

In Bursa, there is a traditional way of alerting people of the end of the fasting day. I remember, as a child, we would wait eagerly to hear the top (the old canon on top of the hill in the city centre) so we could start to eat. We were not fasting but the food on the table looked so tasty that it was difficult for us to wait for dinner to start. As soon as we heard the sound, we would rush to the table and shout "iftar başladı" (iftar has started). The top was, of course, not necessary in the past and is not necessary today, as the call for the evening prayer indicates the beginning of iftar at the same time. But it is a nice tradition to keep.

Ramadan is the month of the Qur'an as it started to be revealed during this month. Therefore, Muslims normally spend this month reading the Qur'an and worshipping more than in other months, especially at night. However, people always seem to be eager to celebrate and have fun. So, there are often many Ramazan şenlikleri (Ramadan events and festivities) all around the city.

Ramdan is also the month of charity. Although, we should engage in charity throughout the year, there is more of it during Ramadan, as it is the case during Christmas time. People give more in charity and iftar tends are set up in front of mosques or in public places, to provide food for the poor or for travellers.

Ramadan is meant to be a time of restraint (not only from food) but if you see how much people shop during this time, especially the first days of Ramadan, you would think it is not a month of fasting but a month to celebrate food :) Very similar to Christmas time. If you gain weight during Ramadan, you did something wrong obviously. Btw, you shouldn't loose (much) weight either if you fast correctly. Personally, I try not to overeat but I've never been a person who eats a lot of food anyway. I do, however, eat more consciously during Ramadan with more vegetables, fruit and liquids. Having said that, here are some Ramadan recipes :)