Dubai: Minutes before Maghrib (sunset) prayers, the Ramadan cannon is ready and in place to announce iftar
Dubai Police’s Weapons and Ammunition Department of the General Department of Services and Supplies is responsible for the cannons.
Major Abdullah Mubarak Bin Musabah, Head of the Weapons and Ammunition department of the General Department of Services and Supplies at Dubai Police, said it is a tradition that has been in Arab countries for years.
“It is believed that the tradition started in Egypt and moved to the rest of the Arab countries,” he said.
Dubai Police have six cannons, five of which are in use and one is used as a back-up.
“We fire around 180 cartridges across Dubai during Ramadan and Eid from the five cannons. Each cannon is fired twice in a row to announce Ramadan, once every day to announce iftar and twice in a row to announce Eid and again twice on the morning of Eid, after Eid prayers.”
The Dubai Police cannons are British 25lbs (11kg) models, which were made in 1945. “We have had those cannons since the sixties and they undergo periodic maintenance,” Maj Bin Musabah said.
They can be seen during Ramadan in Bur Deira, near Deira prayer grounds and four in Bur Dubai area, one each near Al Safa Park, Al Karama prayer grounds, Jumeirah Beach Residence and the Burj Khalifa.
There are a total of 20 officers on cannon duty, as each cannon is assigned four officers.
The cannon fires a blank cartridge that only contains black powder, Maj Bin Musabah said. “However, people should never stand in front of the cannon, because it produces sound and heat. A safe distance is around 20 metres away from the cannon.”
When the cannon is fired, the 170-decibel sound can be heard around 10km away.
