Breaking Fast at Turkish Mosque

Last Saturday was my first time breaking fast and did the Taraweeh at a mosque in Germany. We were invited by a Turkish old women that we called Oma (although I think her name is Lisa) to the local Turkish mosque. This is definitely a new experience for me. The mosque itself was like a Turkish cultural center. We got to experience a different kind of Turkish food (other than Döner/Dürüm). There are two different choice of food - Either eat for free inside the mosque or go to the food bazaar and pay for a mere €7 for an All-you-can-eat buffet.

This time we went for a free breaking fast inside the mosque. According to the stories of our friends, Turkish is known to serve their guest with A LOT of food. We had some worries if the food will be served in a huge serving. Luckily the food given to us was in decent. And the best part eat, we are neither full nor hungry which means it is quite a comfort to perform Maghrib prayer after eating.

After Maghrib, we then went for a light snacks and tea prepared earlier by Oma and her family. I must say, her cheese-filled is delicious. The atmosphere here reminded me of Bazaar Ramadan in Malaysia. There are many stalls that sell foods, Islamic books, clothes and halal meat. Here we met the playful turkish ice-cream seller. Their ice-cream or Dondurma have a sticky and elastic texture unlike the usual ice-cream sell here in Germany. The vendors tease my friend by serving the ice cream cone on a stick, and then taking away the ice-cream with the stick and rotating it around, before finally giving it to her. And with me holding the camera, he was quite excited.

Then we went back to the mosque for Isha' and Taraweeh prayer. It was definitely a whole new experience. During the prayer, the Imam recites the surahs really fast. I'm having such a hard time finishing my Al-Fatihah and other surahs. And to my surprise they pray 20 rak'ah Taraweeh as 4 rak'ah in 1 salam, and Witr Prayer as the whole 3 rak'ah. I'm going to make sure I'm prepared the next time I come to the mosque again. Before we went home, Oma gave us a lot of other food such breads and rice stuffed inside capsicum. But I must say, their hospitality towards the guests is definitely overwhelming!

Have you ever experience different Ramadan?