Sound of Ramadan cannon resonates with Cairo faithful after 29-year break
The Ramadan cannon at Cairo’s Citadel, believed to be the birthplace of the tradition, was fired for the first time in 29 years on Tuesday.
For Egyptians to hear the cannon, it had to be meticulously restored, Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said. Craftsmen removed rust from the exterior and cleaned inside of the barrel.
The firing of a Ramadan cannon, or midfa al iftar, at sunset is a tradition followed in several Muslim countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Kuwait.
The firing carries a special meaning for worshippers, recalling a time before there were smartphones and apps to tell them when they could end their fast.
Eman Zidan, assistant minister of tourism and antiquities, said the restoration of the cannon was part of a plan to upgrade museums and archaeological sites, including the citadel, also know as the Salahuddin Al Ayoubi Castle.
Osama Talaat, head of the ministry’s Islamic, Coptic and Jewish antiquities department, told The National that restoring the cannon took a month.
Mr Talaat said he used to live in the area surrounding the citadel and remembered the sound of the cannon ringing out over the city. It was last fired in 1992.
“As an Egyptian citizen, it makes me very happy and it brings back nice memories,” he said.
The ministry test-fired the cannon in the police museum square at the castle.
The fortress dates from the Middle Ages and is located on the Muqattam Hills in the south-east of the capital.
Construction of the castle began in 1174 under Salahuddin, the first sultan of Egypt.
It was not completed in his lifetime, but after his reign it became the official residence of the rulers of Egypt until the mid-19th century.
How the Ramadan cannon tradition was born is debated by historians and scholars.
Cannon first appeared in China in the 12th century, hundreds of years after the birth of Islam.
Mr Talaat said many believed the tradition of using cannon fire to mark the time for iftar originated at the castle in Cairo.
In one historical account, Mamluk Sultan Khushqadam is said to have fired the cannon after receiving it as a gift.
This shot was said to have coincided with sunset on the first day of Ramadan in 1467, or 871 in the Islamic calendar, and people thought it was meant to signal to the city that it was time to break the first fast of the holy month.
After Cairo’s inhabitants thanked the sultan for the signal, he decided to fire the cannon at sunset on each day of Ramadan.
In another story, during the reign of 19th-century ruler Khedive Ismail it was mistakenly set off while being cleaned by soldiers. His daughter Fatima is said to have been so taken with the idea that she asked that the tradition be continued.
The cannon at the citadel has been changed and moved around over hundreds of years.
The one on display at the square dates from 1871. Built in Germany by Krupp, it has a solid iron base and requires two soldiers to operate it.
The Ramadan cannon is usually fired twice to herald the start of the holy month, and then on each day at sunset.
A second firing often comes in the early morning hours during the call to fajr prayers, to signal the start of a new fasting day.
Two shots are fired to announce the start of Eid Al Fitr.