Beginning of Ramadan
19 February 2026 · movable holiday — Hayırlı Ramazanlar! May the month be bright and peaceful.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and the month of fasting. Believers abstain from food and drink from dawn until sunset, and gather in the evening for iftar, the meal that breaks the fast. The month begins with the sighting of the new crescent moon; in Turkey the start follows the official calendar of the Presidency of Religious Affairs. Because the lunar year is about 10–11 days shorter than the solar one, Ramadan moves earlier in the solar calendar each year. In Ottoman tradition, before dawn the drummer (davulcu) walked the neighbourhoods. With his drum and mani (short folk couplets) he woke people for sahur, the pre-dawn meal. The custom survives in many Turkish towns and is cherished as a shared memory of the neighbourhood. That is why a drummer crosses the sky, with a glowing crescent beside him as the sign of the new month.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver star figure made of light dots and lines, like a constellation: a drummer with a large hanging drum and a mallet, walking slowly across the sky
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