Religious festivals are occasions when friends and relatives come together and a spirit of fellowship prevails. Children are given presents, alms are distributed to the poor, neighbours and relatives visit one another, animals are sacrificed, and everyone attends morning prayers. In traditional Islamic societies festive fun and worship are combined in the two main festivals of the year, the Seker Bayram or Sugar Festival following Ramazan and the Kurban Bayram or Festival of Sacrifice. In Ottoman times the month of Ramazan was the most important and colourful month of the year. One of its main features was the splendid evening meals to which many guests were invited to break the day's fast. After dinner people went to the coffee houses where meddahs told stories and puppeteers gave performances of Karagöz shadow plays. In some places theatres were set up in tents, which in Istanbul in the 19th century were replaced by western style theatres. In these respect the month of Ramazan was the highlight of the year where entertainment and socialising were concerned.

The meddahs told stories in instalments every evening, like modern television serials, so that their audiences would be attracted to the coffee houses the following night to hear what happened next. A different shadow play was performed on each of the 28 evenings, and the title of the next day's play was announced at the end of each performance. The mosques were decorated with illuminated inscriptions and pictures formed by oil lamps strung up between the minarets by means of pulleys. Known as mahya, these illuminations were an art that required great skill. Today electric lightbulbs are used instead of lamps. Mahya illuminations date back to the 17th century and were initially restricted to Ramazan, but during the reign of Sultan Ahmed III (1703-1730) illuminations were extended to include religious festivals. Illuminated inscriptions were of a religious nature, such as 'Welcome to Ramazan' or the names and attributes of God, while the pictures included carnations, tulips, mosques, bridges, caiques, ships, birds, fish, houses, fountains or carriages.

and a large swing boat decorated with creepers. This lively scene gives a vivid impression of the festivals of past centuries. Swings were the most popular of all rides at the funfairs, and competitions were held to see who could swing highest and seize the pomegranates, pears, apples and oranges that were hung on strings out of reach. The team who managed to get the most fruit was the winner. Three people stood at the side of each swing pulling on ropes to propel the swing higher, and the customers paid them a few akçe for each ride. The ferris wheels were rotated by hand, and came in two sizes, a large one for adults and a small for children. Sometimes such wheels featured in entertainment at other festivities. For example, one of the miniatures illustrating the circumcision festivities for the sons of Sultan Ahmed III in 1720 shows a ferris wheel on a raft on the Golden Horn, and a team of dancers performing beside it. Children sang special songs for the festival and entertainers performed in tents.

The latter included dancers, acrobats, and trainers of various animals, such as monkeys and goats, who performed tricks. Strange creatures such as mermaids or girls whose lower bodies were serpents were displayed. Vendors of eatables like nuts, toffee apples, lollipops in the form of cockerels, dishes of milk pudding or cream, fondant, biscuits, sherbet, and bread rings did a roaring trade. But the childrn'ss favourite vendor was the toy seller. These traditional toys made of wood, tin, leather and clay, and painted and decorated with mirrors, were made by craftsmen in the district of Eyüp on the Golden Horn. At the palace a series of ceremonies marked by strict protocol took place. The first of these was the Arife Divan held on the eve of each festival in the Second Court of Topkapi Palace. High-ranking statesmen and officials attended this ceremony, at which the mehter band played the enormous köse drums.

The following day a ceremony called the Muayede-i Hümayun took place, at which they paid their respects to the sultan, seated on his gold plated throne brought out of the Treasury for the occasion. One by one the statesmen and palace officials, beginning with the sultn'si teacher, kissed the hem of the sultn'sr robe. The ceremonious procession of the sultan to mosque for morning prayers on the first day of the festival was a splendid affair. Although many of the ceremonies of past religious festivals have disappeared and their traditional entertainments been replaced by television, these occasions are still marked by a spirit of joy and festive social gatherings.


* Professor Dr Metin And is a member of the Turkish Academy