By Fazile Zahir
FETHIYE, Turkey – The daily breaking of the fast during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, once marked with cannons and drumbeats, is in a modern Turkey being increasingly signaled by fireworks.
In Izmir for decades a cannon was fired at sunset from the walls of Kadifekale Castle (“the velvet castle” in Turkish) to mark the start of the evening meal or Iftar, but this year it won’t. The Izmir Fire Brigade has said the city’s fast-paced development has made the blast too dangerous.
As the city has expanded and the area around the castle become increasingly urbanized, the cannon was first moved to Kariyaka district, and then more ignominiously to the heights of the Evka-4
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