A Shared Lifetime Tradition "Ramadan Meal", Izmir - Aug.2012

Humanity Photo Award held by UNESCO & CFPA  China 2013 "Living and Production Custom" section

In a village of Izmir city, every year, on the last day of Ramadan, villagers women visit each house to collect the meal ingredients according to the budget of the families for the Ramadan meal. When the evening comes, villagers women and men prepare the meals in the garden of the mosque. Fires are made and the meals are cooked in the cauldrons till the morning. Early in the morning, after the prayer ceremony for Ramadan, each villager takes the meal as needed to their houses. The secret to food is that everyone attends according to their budget and gets as much as they need. Everyone in the village eats this meal that day and nobody goes hungry.  The reason for this tradition may be a fully egalitarian state established in this region 600 years ago despite the Ottoman Empire and its 3 years of resistance. This photo portfolio won Humanity Photo Award held by UNESCO & CFPA in China in 2013.