Mid-Sha'ban (Berat Night)
2 February 2026 · movable holiday — May this bright night bring peace and forgiveness to every home.
Berat Kandili is the night leading into the 15th of Sha'ban, the eighth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. The word “berat” means forgiveness or release, and “kandil” means an oil lamp. On this night believers pray, ask for forgiveness and reflect on their deeds. In Muslim tradition it is a time of mercy and contemplation before the coming month of Ramadan. In Turkey the minarets of mosques are lit up, and sometimes illuminated inscriptions called mahya, most typical of Ramadan, are strung between them. People visit mosques, recite the Quran, and many families prepare sweets and remember loved ones who have passed away. The observance follows the lunar calendar: Sha'ban begins with the first visible crescent after the new moon, so its 15th night falls around the full moon. Because the lunar year is about 10 to 11 days shorter than the solar year, the date shifts earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar and moves through all the seasons over time.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver row of glowing oil lamps made of light points and thin lines, like a constellation drifting slowly across the sky between the slender outlines of two minarets
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