Ramadan protocol in the Ottoman Empire

The Ottomans were much more inclined to stay up the whole of the night after they had broken their fast in the evening. After all, sahur or breakfast had to be eaten before the dawn of a new day broke. They had ways of staying awake from eating late to enjoying entertainments of different kinds  â€œBurn the boxwood spoons and throw the ashes on the rose garden,” were the instructions given by the wealthy householder who had hosted an iftar dinner to break the fast during the month of Ramadan. The spoons in question had been produced in sets of six, each of the six having the same verse from the Quran on it. The recipients would then find his place at a table on which that same verse had been written. It didn’t matter if a paşa sat next to a poor man or a foreigner next to an imam (Muslim prayer leader). After saying a prayer of thankfulness to God, the spoons would be gathered up. Thus the guests provided the house owner with the opportunity to do a good deed.

The men sat separately from the women unless they were close relatives, but the children could move freely between the two groups during the meal and afterwards. Young girls, if there were any, would bring coffee to their elders who were now smoking, if they cared to, and chatting with each other. After all, there would have been little talk while they were eating.

Sultan Ahmed III watching a fireworks display and
a giant puppet play.

The sultans only began to celebrate iftar within their families after Dolmabahçe Palace was built and they moved there in 1856. Still, they continued the tradition of going to the Hırka-ı Şerif Mosque in which the Prophet’s mantle and other memorabilia were kept. And on Kadir Gecesi...