İstanbul´s Sultanahmet square -- named after the famous Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque) -- has long been the centre of traditional Ramadan entertainment in the city and it is now being prepared to play this role once again. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Eminönü Municipality Mayor Nevzat Er said the Sultanahmet Ramadan Festivities are the most familiar and popular activity of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, in İstanbul.

Er said it will be the 14th year of the municipality-sponsored festivities and that some special activities will be held in the amphitheatre next to the Firuzağa Mosque in Sultanahmet square. He stressed that the activities will not damage any of the historical sites there. On the contrary, he said, they will serve as an introduction to the historical part of the city for many people. The mayor explained that they will not spend any public funds to organize these events, adding that profits from the rental of bazaar space to vendors will be the main source of funding.

The festivities will begin with recitations from the Quran and a concert of Sufi music next Monday after the Terawih prayer, a congregational prayer that Muslims perform after the night prayer during Ramadan. Later in the month the after-Terawih program will feature speeches from prominent national figures, in addition to Sufi music performances. Every day there will be a fast-breaking meal, a Karagöz and Hacıvat shadow puppet show for children, story telling and plays telling the tales of Nasreddin Hodja.

Once again a traditional bazaar will be set up in Sultanahmet Square this year. There will be 80 stands in the bazaar, featuring Turkish cuisine, gift shops and traditional crafts. There will also be vendors throughout the square selling traditional foods such as kestane (roasted chestnuts), mısır (corn on the cob), kumpir (stuffed baked potato) and delicious drinks such as salep and boza. Gözleme (stuffed flatbread) and macun, a sort of cold taffy, will also be available for anyone looking for classic Turkish tastes. 

Source: www.todayszaman.com

****

I wish I could see that!

One day I hope I´ll be there during ramazan.. and I´m sure that day is coming closer and closer!

how is Ramadan in Turkey? I´d love to know ....Well I´d love to be there actually during the month but can´t

I mean family life,...... working  hours during the month changes? ... these kind of things

I was in Iznik on the last evening of Ramazan last October.Sweet stalls lined the streets and people were buying big trays of baklava. Just before sunset restaurants were beginning to fill with people. We sat at a table outside and watched what others were doing.

The bread was brought but no one ate it. A short time later soup was brought but no one ate.

The sun set,the cannon was fired and we all dived in,hungry from not having eaten all day.

That was just one day for us. Others had been doing the same for the previous 40 days.

 40? I thought 29 or 30?

Sorry!! Yes,you´re right of course!!! I was thinking of the biblical 40 days and 40 nights!!

 I hope you have the opportunity one day.  I will get mine next summer, I hope.

 Excuse me?!!  Did you fast? Or only waited as respect and dived on to the soup?

Yes I did fast that day! Even had I not I would still not have eaten before anyone else out of respect.

I loooooooove ramadan time its sooo fun!It just feels different than all the other months!!! Really it fels so happy!Ramadan songs on tv allt he time and the ramadan soap operas which aftyer fitar everybody watches, smelling the food from the kitchen and just standing over my moms head waiting for her to finish, and on the streets there are lights hung everywhere!!!!!! and people selling all kinds of stuff on the stret and i looove those lanterns, just look at all the buildings and youll find people hanging huge versions of them in their balcony or hanging lights (we did!) and all the restaurants have huge tables infront of them cause they make a free fitar to poor people or people who wont be able to make it home in time and not only restaurants but mosques too, and if youre on the road during fitar people in the street go around giving you bottles of water and dates or some people give out meals, you feel like everybodys doing good its really freaky to see everyone so happy and giving and nobody curses or wears and before fitar all the people are buying stuff from the streets and there are theses people who take corn and lke grill them and all kinds of stuff are being sold, and always in ramadan (not always biut most days) the whole family comes and like one day we go to my uncle another we got to my aunt..... but on the first day we all go to my grandmas house(cause shes the head of the family) and i mean the WHOLE family plus second cousins and my dads uncles everybody!!!! and we all have fitar there, and iis especially special if youre gonna have fitar ata historical place cause then they fire a cannon. And in most places (sadly not my neighborhood)before the fajr time everybody eats and drinks and a guy comes around just hitting on this drum saying eake up o sleepy one to remind people to wake up, you feel so...tingly like.....i have no idea how to explain it but it feels good!Only a week left till ramadan (i think)!!!YAAAY!!!