In pictures Ramadan drummers: An age old community tradition in the Middle East

Ever heard of the Musharati who calls out to fasting Muslims to have their last meal before dawn during Ramadan? He is the traditional Ramadan drummer who calls on neighbours to awake those fasting during the day for a pre-dawn meal.

Historian Abdelmajid Abdul Aziz says Mesaharati first appeared in Egypt during the Fatimid dynasty. The ramadan drummers begins from the last day of the month of Shaaban all the way until after Eid Al-Fitr. They also rhythmically bang a drum called a “baza,” which according to them is loud enough to wake up a whole neighborhood.

The silence of the darkened streets of Bilad al-Qadeem, a village outside the capital of Manama in Bahrain, Yasser al-Samak has become a social media hit by adapting age-old songs for the time of coronavirus. In a distinctive Bahraini accent he sings of life in the pandemic, extols the benefits of social distancing, and gives thanks to medics and first responders for their sacrifices on the front line.

Ramadan in Morocco has a different flavor. Drummers roam the streets during the early morning darkness before the fast starts, tapping their drums to rouse people out of bed. The drummer would weave in and around the small streets making the sound, 'echo' of the houses. The tradition of drumming is usually passed down from father to son. It has been going on forever and still continues till today.

In the eastern province, of Saudi Arabia where the custom remains a deep-rooted part of the holy month, the drummer is known as Abu Tabila. The fasting month is not complete in Al-Ahsa governorate without him roaming the streets before dawn prayers. Adults and children often come out of their homes or peer from windows to watch Abu Tabila pass by beating his small drum while reciting prayers.

Palestinian dad Abdel Khaleq Abu Atwan continues to beat the drum for age-old traditions of Ramadan in Palestine. Abu Atwan has operated as musaharati in his neighborhood in city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip for the past seven years. Wearing a traditional Palestinian costume along with a red hat and white scarf, he weaves his way through the streets banging his drum for around 90 minutes before returning home to have a sahoor meal with his family.

Ramadan drummer Abdelfattah al-Bayour awakens Syria's displaced among the tents, tented settlement near the village of Killi. He bangs on a saucepan, calling on his neighbours to wake up for a last meal before dawn. His teenage son Mustafa tags along, shining a small torch into the darkness as they tour the tented settlement area.

Decked in Ottoman-era attire, keeping the centuries old tradition alive the Ramadan drummers wander the streets to wake up residents for "sahur" , in Istanbul. Umit Kurt is one of the thousands of drummers who continue to perform the tradition. Apartments light up for the time of sahur after he beats his drum and sings poems extolling the holy month.

A Mesaharaty strikes his drum to wake observant Muslims for their overnight 'sahur', last meal, before the day's fast during Ramadan in Sidon's Old City in south Lebanon.

In Jordan, it has become a fading Ramadan tradition. Abu Saad Moghrebi one of Jordon’s last musaharatis collects donations ahead of his nightly pre dawn route. With the rise of mobile-phone alarm clocks and a decline in interest among new generation to carry on the tradition, the art of the musaharati in Jordan is quickly dying out.