Iftar Cannon

Every evening upon the Maghrib adhan (sunset call to prayer), a cannon would fire a single shot to notify people of the start of Iftar in Ramadan, when Muslims get to break their day-long fasting as the sun sets.

Though the tradition is practiced today in most parts of the Arab world, the blast of the cannon was first used to inform the entire city of the time of Iftar, before the invention of accurate clocks and mass media.

The cannon is first fired to herald the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, and then each day to announce the breaking of the fast at the sunset prayers of Maghrib.

When the people of Cairo heard the boom they took it as sign they could end their fast, and were so thrilled with the idea that they thronged to the palace to congratulate the sultan.

Various designs of Ramadan cannon are used, ranging from purpose-built blank-firing devices to conventional artillery guns, such as the British QF 25-pound howitzer used in the United Arab Emirates.