Ramadan is Done - Bayram Begins

I'll explain all of this in a very uneducated way - so forgive me for errors along the way.  Islam has a yearly month of fasting called Ramadan. Its really more than just fasting, but that's the most obvious part to me.  You can eat before sunrise and then again after sunset. No drinking, of even water, during this time. Not very healthy when Ramadan, which moves across the calendar as the years pass, is during the summer. So excluded are young and old people, those with medical conditions or those who's lives require food and drink through the day (like people working outside, etc.).

In our travels we met a lot of folks who where fasting.  You could usually tell by the late afternoon because they were either sitting in the shade waiting for sunset or were a bit spaced out. One of our waiters dropped our drinks because he was too shaky. 

In many towns, a drummer will walk through the neighborhoods - street by street - waking people up to eat before sunrise (am very happy the drummers are done). Then the evening call to prayers from the mosque gives the ok to break the fast.


After 30 days the end of Ramadan is celebrated with Bayram.  Here in turkey, that means you travel 'home' to where you family lives - like Christmas time.  And then you have 3 days of eating sweets and visiting friends and family. Younger people go and visit older people (so because we are staying with mark's mom, we have had alot of visitors). The younger person kisses the hand of the older person and then touches the hand to their forehead as a greeting and receives candy, money or a gift in return. To the kids, this is like Halloween in that they come to the door and kiss the hand - get candy in return. (advertising is huge starting w/Ramadan - commercials/ads wish people happy Ramadan and then Bayrm from the sponsor, and candy ads jump just before Bayram)  People get dressed up in their finest outfits. Mark's niece is a hairdresser and worked until 3am the night before Bayram to get her clients ready.

Visits typically last 20 minutes and everyone is served homemade baklava if the household made it (I've seen no store bought baklava served) or some special dessert. Then up you go to the next house, to do it again.  Mark's family tends to stay up very late and then sleep in.  We've been surprised to have dressed up visitors arrive while we are still in our pj's!

Those drummers come back as well.  They stand outside of each door and bang the drum and even start singing loudly. Their objective is to annoy you enough to pay them to leave. Some people give money, others give gifts like kitchen towels or olive oil. The drummer has helpers to assist in being annoying and also in carrying the loot.

Mark's family prepared for Bayram with one full day of baklava preparation. His mom is the master filo dough maker and literally rolls out each filo layer for the baklava. I was the dough ball maker and nut spreader (i'm told these are highly specialized tasks given only to skilled craftsmen....and visiting relatives).  The extended family showed up with their dough so that mark's mom could roll their dough.  So, ana worked for over 8 hours rolling dough - with no food or drink! I was exhausted for her.

Mixing the dough

Unending rolling of each filo layer

The baklava pans are so big that they have to be taken to the bread baker for baking. One family member had a catastrophe - the baker burned their baklava. So he took the baker to the city to get the baker to pay for more flour and a 'cost' of remaking the baklava in time for Bayram.

precise cutting

ready for the baker!