The Drummer in ramadan

Each morning during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, an hour or two before dawn, drummers (mesharati) tour the streets, hammering out a repetitive beat to wake people up to have their sohour (pre-dawn meal). This tradition dates back to the Ottoman era when people didn’t have alarm clocks to wake them for sohour, drummers would walk through the streets beating their drums. They would also sing a rhyming couplet -- a reflection of the popular culture. At the end of Ramadan, the drummers go to houses in their street to ask for money for the wake-up service they provided for the neighborhood during the whole holy month. Almost all phases of the drum-beating tradition, from walking through the streets beating the drum to singing rhyming couplets and collecting money, are still observed. This centuries-old tradition keeps ongoing as it
carries the spiritual aspect of old Ramadan days.