Eid al-Fitr begins on Wednesday

Turkish Cypriots and other Muslims across Cyprus are preparing for the start of Eid al-Fitr, one of the two main festivals on the Muslim calendar, which is to begin on Wednesday.

The festival marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast during daylight hours.

Eid al-Fitr begins with prayers, which will be performed at 6.37am. Food is a central theme of the festival, with sweet food of particular importance.

On the eve of the festival on Tuesday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar visited the Ozen elderly nursing home in Famagusta, families of Turkish Cypriots killed in intercommunal violence, and the graves of Cypriot children killed in last year’s earthquake in Turkey.

In addition, both he and ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel held telephone calls with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to express their mutual best wishes for the festival.

Head of the north’s religious affairs directorate Ahmet Unsal said “let us all open our hands together and send the tranquillity, security, guidance, and salvation which falls into our palms with prayer to humanity.

“Let us pray for the liberation of Gaza, East Turkestan, the orphans of the ummah, our brothers in need, and our brothers who are oppressed in many parts of the world … I pray to the almighty lord that this Eid al-Fitr will bring tranquillity, peace, justice, and mercy.”