Experience the magic of Ramadan in Turkey

For some, it is a time spent with family and friends. For others, the month offers a clean slate to start anew. And for Muslims, the month is a special period dedicated to developing one’s relationship with God, but no matter what aspect of Ramadan stays with one the most -- the impressive array of festivities, the brilliant show of culture or the spiritual coming together of communities -- most will agree that Ramadan in Turkey is an experience that is not forgotten.

Ramadan, or “Ramazan” in Turkish, is more than just a month of fasting for Muslims. Though fasting, in which nothing passes the lips between sunrise and sunset, is integral to this special month, so are self-reflection, solidarity and celebration.

Having begun this year at the start of a sweltering August, there are now fewer than two weeks remaining in Ramadan, the month of daytime fasting, evening merriment and giving back to those in need. For tourists and locals alike, it is quite an adjustment as Ramadan is unlike any other time of the year in Turkey. For some, it is a time spent with family and friends. For others, the month offers a clean slate to start anew.

And for Muslims, the month is a special period dedicated to developing one’s relationship with God, but no matter what aspect of Ramadan stays with one the most -- the impressive array of festivities, the brilliant show of culture or the spiritual coming together of communities -- most will agree that Ramadan in Turkey is an experience that is not forgotten.

Though considered to be one of the holiest times of the year, Ramadan is not restricted to mosques. Wherever one walks, signs of the holy month can be felt, heard, seen, tasted and smelled across Turkey.

Whether one chooses to dine with strangers who are soon-to-be friends in iftar (fast-breaking) tents, to mosey down the lane of colorful shops and festivities of Sultanahmet Square in İstanbul, or to recite the Quran in the even busier mosques, there is something magical and yet tangible about the spirit that sweeps Turkey during the “Sultan of the other 11 months.” To put simply, Turkey in Ramadan is truly a different experience of Turkey.

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People journey from all over the world to celebrate the unique festivities of Ramadan every year in Turkey. Visitors sit in Sultanahmet Square and witness the unparalleled view of lit-up mosques, cascading fountains and the general hubbub around them. Families and people of all ages flock to the square to picnic on the cool grass among the trees and historic sites. Here, families enjoy traditional iftar dinners of veggies, fruits, olives and flaky, buttery pastries called börek.

Especially in winter, when the nights are longer than the days, the stories of the elders made life easier. These jokes and stories had several functions. They strengthened bonds between generations, they were used for their educational content and they served as a means of entertainment.

Ramadan jokes had a particular place among these stories and memories. Everybody has had an experience with breaking the fast early by mistake or failing to get up for the sahur meal and suffering from hunger for the whole day. This turned into educative material on the tongues of the elders of the family. In our house, the stories and jokes of Grandpa Abbas were the prime entertainment of Ramadan evenings.

With the language of modern days, Grandpa was a standup comedian. He would make up stories according to the needs of the day and would add color to our monotonous village evenings. But through the jokes he told we also learned much about different sects of Islam, what breaks a fast and what does not, the benevolence of the Ottoman sultans and Ramadan tips that we needed to know. Sometimes when I am asked a complicated question and give the answer, I feel the need to keep to myself that my source of information is Grandpa’s jokes. I learned quite a bit about my religion from those jokes.

In fact, my first information about the relation between the first moon and the beginning of Ramadan comes from a joke I heard from Grandpa: “A person was not fond of fasting and in order to avoid it he tried not to see the first moon. He closed all the windows of his house and only looked down while walking in the street. One night he saw the reflection of the moon in a waterhole. He started complaining: ‘O the lovely moon, must you enter into my eyes? Okay, we understand, it is Ramadan already…” Grandpa would of course add corrective details to jokes like this one. You do not have to see the first moon on your own. It is enough that the moon is viewable.

Bektaşis suffered from the Ramadan jokes. It is probably not because Bektaşis do not fast during Ramadan that most of the jokes are about them. Bektaşis are also easy-going people. They themselves tell these jokes and make fun of life. Here are a few of the jokes: “A Bektaşi was not fasting but he woke for the sahur meal. His wife asked him why. ‘Woman,’ he replied, ‘I am already abandoning the obligatory [fasting]. Should I also abandon the optional [sahur]?” “A Bektaşi was asked how he felt about Ramadan. ‘I like the iftar dinners,’ he said and added, ‘But it would be better if they put sahur at noon’.” “A Bektaşi was asked whether he was fasting or not. ‘I would love to but I have no strength,’ he said. He was asked whether he would accept iftar invitations. ‘Of course,’ he replied. ‘How can you find no strength for the invitation of Allah [fasting], but you can find it for the invitation of people?’ they asked. ‘Allah is most merciful. He forgives me anyway. But people are so insecure. They get offended if I don’t attend their iftar,’ he replied.”

The Turkish imagination produces new Ramadan jokes every year. “Naim Hodja, who is known for his jokes, was asked whether entering the sea [to swim] breaks the fast or not. ‘Boys,’ he replied, ‘If you enter the sea it doesn’t break your fast, but if the sea enters you, it does’.” “Temel [a common figure in jokes] was fasting on a summer day in İstanbul. He was dying for water. He saw non-Muslim tourists eating and drinking in the middle of the day and called to them: ‘Know the value of your religion!’” “Once an imam recited the evening call to prayer early in Rize and the people of Rize broke their fast early. This was explained to the mufti in Ankara and the mufti declared that everyone from Rize should fast anew. The next day the mufti received a call from Germany. The man on the line was a person from Rize, asking whether he should also fast anew.”

Eating and drinking due to necessity, receiving a blood transfusion, receiving nourishment via an IV drip, menstruation and postnatal bleeding are among the circumstances that can nullify the fast and require the day to be made up later. It is not obligatory to make up the missed fasts immediately after Ramadan, and they may be delayed until the next Ramadan. However, it is not permissible to postpone making up missed fasts until after the next Ramadan without a valid excuse, such as being continuously ill or being a nursing mother. Thus, Muslims often hurry to make up missed fasts rather than delaying them

Candles in the minarets of mosques remain lit until morning during the month of Ramadan in the Sandzak region, especially in the cities of Tutin, Priyepolye, Sjenica, Novi Pazar and Priboy.

The spiritual richness of the holiest month of the year for Muslims is explained during local TV programming at iftar (fast-breaking) and sahur (pre-dawn) meal times.

As the time to break the daily fast grows nearer, a pleasant hubbub sweeps over the streets of Novi Pazar, the largest city in the Sandzak region.

Long lines of people waiting outside bakeries for hot-from-the-oven “pide” begin to take shape and one shop after another starts to close their shutters for the day. The traditional large flatbread is baked specifically for iftar during Ramadan. Both Orthodox Serbs and their Muslim neighbors can be seen queuing for fresh-baked pide.

As the evening call to prayer rings out, life in the districts of the Sandzak region virtually comes to a halt. Shops close for the day and streets become deserted as families gather to break their fast together. Even those in the community who are not fasting often are invited and share iftar with those who are.

Dishes rooted in traditional Anatolian cuisine adorn every iftar table. A typical iftar dinner menu often boasts stuffed peppers, savory meat and rice dishes and eggplant casseroles. Of course, İftar would not be complete without delectable desserts like rich kadayıf, flaky baklava and syrupy tulumba.

During sahur, people enjoy a variety of pastries called “börek” specific to the Sandzak region, such as “mantı böreği,” a pastry stuffed with meat and spices and smothered in yogurt. The popular pre-drawn beverage is made from stewed plums and pears.

Some private companies in the Sandzak region allow employees to take leave during the month of Ramadan. Because of the holiness of Ramadan, many businesses belonging to Muslims in the districts of Sandzak continue the tradition of not selling alcohol. Coffee and tea shops that are empty during the day come alive starting in the early evening until the early hours nearing sahur time.

Mosques are filled with people reciting a section of the Quran in post-iftar prayers (teravih) every night. People can be found reading the Quran at all times of the day in the mosques, but especially before iftar. Muslims from Turkey and Egypt journey to Sandzak, where recitation and response (“mukabele&rdquo Quran recitals are held in 10 of its 200 mosques. During Ramadan, a time marked not only by fasting and prayer but also by celebration, both residents and tourists flock to the “Sandzak Islam Festival” for cultural entertainment in the form of football matches, puppet shows and concerts

22 August 2011, Monday / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL