Lights, Qurans as Jerusalem holy site meets Ramazan

Around the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, shopkeepers stock up on Ramazan essentials

By
Reuters

Updated Sunday May 28 2017

Jerusalem buzzes with renewed energy in the days before the start of Ramazan, Islam's holy month, when the faithful abstain from eating and drinking during daylight hours.

The Dome of the Rock is seen during sunset on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
 

There's the bustle to prepare the al-Aqsa Mosque, the 8th-century Muslim shrine in Jerusalem's Old City, for the hundreds of thousands of Muslims who will come to pray.

Palestinians employed by the Waqf, the Islamic trust that oversees the mosque and the ancient compound that surrounds it, set up tents for fasting worshippers to take a respite from the heat alongside the golden Dome of the Rock, the site where the Prophet Mohammad is said to have ascended to heaven.

A Palestinian girl places her hand on a marble slab covered with perfume inside the Dome of the Rock located on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
 

Around the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, shopkeepers stock up on Ramazan essentials, including bright lights for decorations and Qurans and prayer beads for recitations.

Firas Kazaz, a Palestinian muezzin, dressed in traditional clothing, calls Muslims to prayer, inside al-Aqsa Mosque, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
 

Issam Zughaiar, 67, sells ornate Ramazan lanterns, called fanous, in the Old City's winding covered market. Each year, he visits factories around Jerusalem and neighbouring Jordan and Egypt to handpick his selection.

The twisting alleyways are filled with the scent of sweets eaten at Iftar, the nightly breaking of the fast, including atayef, sugar-soaked pancakes with cheese or nuts, and date-filled ajwa cookies.

An employee of the Jordanian Waqf, or Islamic trust, that oversees the area, cleans during preparations ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the Dome of the Rock located on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
 

Dutch tourist Ari Heida came to see preparations at the holy esplanade, referred to as the Noble Sanctuary by Muslims and as Temple Mount by Jews, the site of an ancient Jewish temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.

"This is why I like Jerusalem," he said. "It's the centre for Jews, Christians, and Muslims."

Issam Zughaiar, 67, a Palestinian vendor arranges lamp shades at his shop in a market in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
 

That's also what makes this time particularly tense. Authorities have restricted access to the compound, which accommodates the esplanade that sits on large raised area between the Muslim and Jewish quarters of the Old City, in the past.

A Palestinian Sheikh teaches children to read the Koran inside al-Aqsa Mosque, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A Palestinian Sheikh teaches children to read the Koran inside al-Aqsa Mosque, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A Palestinian man prays inside al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest shrine in Islam, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A Palestinian man prays inside al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest shrine in Islam, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A Palestinian Sheikh gives a lesson about the Koran inside al-Aqsa Mosque, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A Palestinian Sheikh gives a lesson about the Koran inside al-Aqsa Mosque, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
An employee of the Jordanian Waqf, or Islamic trust, that oversees the area, fixes mist cooler fans during preparations for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City May, 10, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
An employee of the Jordanian Waqf, or Islamic trust, that oversees the area, fixes mist cooler fans during preparations for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City May, 10, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Muslim women walk in front of the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Muslim women walk in front of the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Firas Kazaz, a Palestinian muezzin, dressed in traditional clothing, prepares before he begins to call Muslims to prayer, inside al-Aqsa Mosque, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Firas Kazaz, a Palestinian muezzin, dressed in traditional clothing, prepares before he begins to call Muslims to prayer, inside al-Aqsa Mosque, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
An employee of the Jordanian Waqf, or Islamic trust, that oversees the area, constructs a shade during preparations for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 6, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
An employee of the Jordanian Waqf, or Islamic trust, that oversees the area, constructs a shade during preparations for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 6, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
An employee of the Jordanian Waqf, or Islamic trust, that oversees the area, stands on a crane as he cleans the ceiling during preparations ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the Dome of the Rock located on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
An employee of the Jordanian Waqf, or Islamic trust, that oversees the area, stands on a crane as he cleans the ceiling during preparations ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the Dome of the Rock located on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

For now, though, the politics has been pushed into the background by the bustle and energy of Ramazan preparations.

Visitors walk past al-Aqsa Mosque at night on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
 

"What will happen in Ramazan, what the security situation will be like, whether Jerusalem be will be open, whether the mosque will be open, we are always optimistic," said Abed al-Rahim Sader Helmi Ansari, who works at Al Aqsa Mosque.

A Palestinian vendor touches Muslim prayer beads displayed on sale at his shop in a market in Jerusalem´s Old City, May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad