Pilgrims gather for the evening prayer at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul during the holy month of Ramadan.
When the lunar month of Ramadan begins, Muslims around the world fast from dawn to dusk and pray throughout the night. Special evening prayers (known as taraweeh) are conducted during which long portions of the Qur'an are recited. The prayer can be very long (well over an hour), during which one stands upright to read from the Qur'an and performs many cycles of movement (standing, bowing, prostrating, sitting). During the standing portions of the prayer, long sections of the Qur'an are read. The Qur'an is divided into equal parts (called juz) for the purpose of reading sections of equal length during each of the Ramadan nights. Thus, 1/30 of the Qur'an is read on successive evenings, so that by the end of the month the entire Qur'an has been completed.
Size: 5184px × 3456px
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Photo credit: © Vesko Cholakov / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ahmed, blue, european, istanbul, mosque, praying, side, sultan