Before iftar1, I went to the Atik-Valde neighborhood2, How many times I've passed through these streets, yet again today, They were quiet. But the spirituality of Ramadan Turned the tranquility into a sweet anticipation; The fasting people of the neighborhood, with refined faces, Quietly return home from the market one by one; The poor girls waiting at the grocery store Give away the time and the iftar closely. No one is left in the square anymore; With the sound of a cannon3, the day ends on this shore. Since the cannon roared and broke the fast, A luminous joy has enveloped the adobe houses. Oh Lord, how serene is this world, how pure!
I remained in the deserted street, without fasting and joy. The sorrow of being distant from the iftar of my homeland Imposed boundless exile on my soul this evening. One thought became solace for my grief; I found some comfort and said to myself: "The separation from them is a constant sorrow for me; But for still having these feelings, I am grateful."
Iftar is the fast-breaking evening meal of Muslims in Ramadan ↩︎
A historic neighborhood in Üsküdar, Anatolian Side of Istanbul with the Atik-Valde mosque complex in its center build by the celebrated architect Sinan. ↩︎
As an Ottoman tradition when the sun sets, a cannon shoots an empty shell and the sound of that cannon heralds the arrival of the iftar and people break their fast. ↩︎
Picture of Atik-Valde neighborhood from the minaret of Atik-Valde mosque.
