When I began preparing for my journeys through Istanbul, I dove headfirst into thick tomes on the culture of the city.
I quickly discovered that Turkey is a secular country with topless beaches, loud heavy metal concerts, couples making out on park benches, people walking down the streets drinking from cans of beer and all manners of conspicuous consumption like you might find in, say, New Orleans.
It’s good to be a Turk.
Then there’s Ramazan. Or Ramadan as it’s known in most of the Muslim world.It is a month long period of fasting prayer and celebration that comes to an end tonight Saturday August 18th 2012 at dusk. At the end of this month-long fast, Turkish Muslims throw a 3 day party known as Bayram. It can get a little wild as Turks love to party and heavy drinking is a cultural norm with bars and nightclubs often staying open til dawn.
Unlike 95% of USA where the blue noses and puritans tell the citizens how long they’re allowed to have fun.
Sweet treats, desserts and candy are a major part of the celebration. Lokum, or Turkish Delight, will be sold in metric tons across Istanbul this evening as the Turks, fifteen million strong in Istanbul alone, consume mass quantities of the unfathomably delicious candy.
Altan Sekerleme, the ancient, Ottoman-era sweet shop, will probably do more business in the next 3 days than they did in the previous 3 months.
Tonight, Istanbul municipality will stretch a banner between the minarets of the Blue Mosque that reads Sevelim Ve Sevilelim or Let Us Love, Let Us Be Loved. I’d give anything to be there.
Here in Austin, Texas we are starting to see some markets open that cater to our Muslim community. I called International Food Market on North Lamar Blvd and they informed me that they have a wide array of Turkish goods including Lokum {Turkish Delight.}
