Traditions of Middle East
Ramadan, hospitality of coffee and dates, Shabbat, Nowruz and the hajj. 191 traditions on EveryParampara so far.
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreEid al-Fitrعيد الفطر
The feast that ends Ramadan, opened with morning prayers, sweets and visits homeFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelPassoverפסח
A Jewish spring festival celebrating freedom from slavery with ritual mealsSpiritual · Dinner
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreHanukkahחֲנֻכָּה
An eight-day Jewish festival marking the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of a single day'Festival
🇮🇱 IsraelMishloach manotמשלוח מנות
Food parcels exchanged on Purim, so everyone has plenty for the day's festive mealSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇷 TurkeyRamadan in Turkey
A holy month of fasting, prayer, and community meals, observed across Turkey with unique local customs.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇾🇪 Mokha, Yemen and 7 moreArabic coffeeqahwa (Arabic: قهوة)
A bitter, spiced brew served as a gesture of hospitality across the Arab world.Table custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelPassover Sederסדר פסח
A ritual meal opening Passover, told over wine, matzah and symbolic foodsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇷 Turkey and 6 moreHıdırellez
A spring festival marking the meeting of two prophets, celebrated across Turkey and the Balkans.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇷 Amol, Iran and 3 moreTirganتیرگان (Tirgān)
An ancient Iranian summer festival of water, poetry and rainbow bands, kept on the thirteenth day of Tir.Festival · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇷 Istanbul, TurkeyTurkish tea culture
Two stacked pots, tulip glasses, and a choice of strong or weak tea in TurkeyTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇹🇷 Van, TurkeyTurkish breakfastkahvaltı
A long, shared Turkish morning meal of many small dishes, sweet and savoury, with teaTable custom · Breakfast
🇹🇷 Istanbul, Turkey and 5 moreSimit
A sesame-encrusted ring bread sold by street vendors across Turkey and the former Ottoman lands.Table custom · Breakfast
🇱🇧 Beirut, Lebanon and 7 moreEid il-Burbaraعيد البربارة
A winter feast of costumes, sweet boiled wheat, and sprouting seeds across the LevantFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇱 IsraelKiddushקידוש
A blessing over wine or grape juice that marks Shabbat and festivals as holySpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇷 Ashtian, Iran and 5 moreSamanuسمنو
A sweet sprouted-wheat paste stirred through the night for NowruzTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇷 Mashhad, Iran and 7 moreIftarإفطار
The sunset meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, eaten with family and communityTable custom · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreChallahחַלָּה
A braided Jewish bread, blessed and shared at Shabbat and holiday tablesTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreCoffee culture
The habits and etiquette of drinking coffee, and the cafés built around itTable custom · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreKashrutכַּשְׁרוּת (Hebrew)
The Jewish dietary laws: what may be eaten, and how it is preparedTable custom
🇹🇷 TurkeyKandilقنديل
Five holy nights marked by illuminated minarets and prayers in Turkey and the BalkansSpiritual · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇮🇶 IraqShabbat mealsסעודות שבת
Three ritual meals eaten across the Jewish Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday nightTable custom · Dinner
🇮🇱 IsraelEve of Passover on Shabbatערב פסח
Special Jewish calendar customs when the eve of Passover coincides with the SabbathSeasonal · Dinner
🇵🇸 al-Khader, PalestineFeast of Saint George
An annual gathering of Palestinian Christians and Muslims honouring Saint GeorgeSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇾 Limassol, CyprusWine Festival of CyprusΓιορτή του Κρασιού
An annual autumn celebration of winemaking, folklore and food in Limassol, CyprusFestival · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇸🇾 Syria and 1 moreThree Sundays of Commemoration
A Maronite Christian observance held on the three Sundays before Lent to remember the departed.Spiritual · Dinner
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Eve of Passover on Shabbat: בעלת הזכויות - טלי אמתי, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shabbat meals: Yoninah, Public domain, source
- Eid al-Fitr: Mohammed Tawsif Salam, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Turkish breakfast: MustafaERTAN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hıdırellez: Правительство Республики Крым, CC BY 4.0, source
- Passover: User:RadRafe~commonswiki, Public domain, source
- Hanukkah: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, source
- Tirgan: LACIPETO, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Simit: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mishloach manot: Yoninah, CC BY 2.5, source
- Eid il-Burbara: Durziil89, CC0, source
- Passover Seder: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Arabic coffee: Canbel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ramadan in Turkey: Wiki leylek, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Iftar: Shariful Islam (Masum), CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kiddush: Dimitri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Turkish tea culture: henribergius, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Samanu: Myone63, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Coffee culture: The original uploader was Hajor at English Wikipedia ., CC BY 3.0 br, source
- Kashrut: Daniel Ventura, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Feast of Saint George: Onceinawhile, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Wine Festival of Cyprus: George M. Groutas, CC BY 2.0, source