Makkah’s Ramadan cannon still treasured in public memory

For many years, it was the only means to alert people of the times of fasting, prayers and beginning and end of the holy month

Six years since the cannon that stands atop Mount Abu Al-Madafaa, north of Makkah, last fired to mark the holy month of Ramadan its sound still reverberates in the memories of many Makkans.

Fahad Al-Harbi, mayor of Ray Zakhir near Mount Abu Al-Madafaa, told Arab News: “The Ramadan cannon withstood technical changes for long decades until its recent retirement.

“It represents ancient Makkan history. The blast of the cannon, with all its importance and beaunotably ty, became the sound of the call to prayer for the residents of Makkah.” For many years, he noted, the cannon was “the only means to alert people that it was time to break fast” and “added a distinct character to the holy month” that is still “treasured in people’s memory.”

Its shots would inform people of the times of fasting, morning prayers, and the beginning and end of Ramadan.

According to Dr. Fawaz Al-Dahas, director of the Center of Makkah History, the cannon has stood on Mount Abu Al-Madafaa for at least a century, and “the people of Makkah connected their love for the holy month” to both the cannon and the mountain.

“In the past, it was impossible to hear the voice of the Grand Mosque’s muezzins, so the cannon performed the task on their behalf. It remained a tradition held dearly,” said Al-Dahas.

But modern technology — most the speakers on the minarets of Makkah’s Grand Mosque — eventually made the cannon obsolete.

‘In the past, it was impossible to hear the voice of the Grand Mosque’s muezzins, so the cannon performed the task on their behalf.’