Ramadan drummer of Istanbul hopes the beat will go on

Drummers fear for future of tradition dating back to Ottoman times in which they wake people for pre-dawn meal of Sahur

Constanze Letsch in Istanbul

guardian.co.uk

Just after two o’clock in the morning, Carli arranges his red velvet costume one last time. “The first night is always exciting”, he says.

He is one of Istanbul’s last few Ramadan drummers: upholders of a tradition going back to Ottoman times, they walk the streets with their drums, waking the inhabitants in time for Sahur, the last meal before a long day of fasting that starts with the call to prayer at sunrise.

Carli – who asked to be referred to by his professional name – has been working as a Ramadan drummer for more than 20 years, and as he makes his way through the Istanbul neighbourhood of Elmadağ, residents greet him like an old friend.

On the first night of Ramadan, he explains, he sings a traditional mâni – a folkloric four-lined stanza – that greets the arrival of the 11th and holiest month of the Islamic calendar. “There will be a greater variation in my songs as Ramadan progresses, but tonight I want people to be happy that Ramadan is here,” he said.

As he beats his drum, apartments light up and people poke their heads out of doors and windows; some children wave. Every now and then, the music sets off the occasional car alarm. Do people ever get angry about the noise? Carli shakes his head. “Sometimes there are people who ask me not to play in front of their houses because someone is ill, or there is a new-born baby.”

Elmadağ is a traditionally non-Muslim neighbourhood: an Armenian hospital is situated here, as is the Vatican consulate. Walking past a retirement home run by a Christian Foundation, Carli chooses not to sing. “Not everybody fasts, and not everybody here is Muslim. It is simply a matter of respect.”

Ramadan drummers like Carli fear that their tradition is dying. Istanbul’s traditional neighbourhoods are gradually being replaced by tower blocks, and nine out of 32 municipalities in Istanbul have banned the drumming as noise pollution, arguing that in times of TV, mobile phones and electric clocks, nobody is in danger of sleeping through Sahur any more.

For Carli, the drumming in Ramadan is a crucial source of income – residents give him tips of up to £500 – but it is also a vital part of the city’s calendar. “It is one of the most important traditions,” he says. “Ramadan without the drumming is impossible.”

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