Istanbul -

The sound of the Maghrib call to prayer rises from the minaret of the Imam al-Azam Mosque, in the Basaksehir district of Istanbul, to raise with it the prayer of dozens of women who gathered near him for one Iftar banquet, the famous Palestinian Maqluba.

About 250 women, including Palestinian, Arab and Turkish activists, participated in a collective women’s breakfast on Saturday under the title “Maqlouba al-Nasr” to simulate the iftar of Palestinians who are known for their fondness for maqluba as a local dish with a family nature that they usually eat on Friday, the day off when Palestinian families gather in their homes.

The Turkish society is known for its rapid response to the Palestinian act in general, and in particular to the events taking place in the city of Jerusalem, from the settlers’ attempts to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and to meet the Jerusalemites and Palestinians with them in Rabat in the Noble Sanctuary and its squares, especially during the days of the blessed month of Ramadan.

The residents of the large Turkish city are also interested in the symbols of the Jerusalem rabat, and they are trying to emulate them. Among these inverted Palestinian symbols, which have turned into a landmark for the Jerusalem rabat, since the fame of images of the Jerusalemites, most notably Khadija Khweis and Hanadi al-Halawani, who present them in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

A Palestinian woman during her participation in the "Maqlouba Al-Nasr" breakfast in the Basaksehir area (Al-Jazeera)

Palestine is mini

The Palestinian Women's Union in Turkey said that the Iftar "Maqluba al-Nasr", which it organized in Istanbul, aims to follow in the footsteps of the Murabitat, and is a symbol of the path of women's bond and highlighting their role in the Islamic world, especially in light of the ongoing confrontations in the occupied Holy City and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque compound recently.

The participants in the "Maqluba Al-Nasr" breakfast wore traditional Palestinian clothes, and some of them wore the keffiyeh in a scene described by Alaa Khader, the Executive Director of the Union, as simulating the performance of the Jerusalemites while they gathered in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, magnifying the faces of the occupation soldiers.

Alaa Khader, Executive Director of the Palestinian Women's Union in Turkey, during her participation in the "Maqlouba Al-Nasr" breakfast (Al-Jazeera)

Palestine was also present with its flags and banners carried by the participants, and in the interactive words and traditional songs that accompanied the breakfast of fasting women.

Khader told Al Jazeera Net that the Palestinian Women's Union in Turkey is trying, through these activities, to raise awareness of the Palestinian cause by "planting a mini-Palestine here" and preparing a society that loves Palestine that is ready to sacrifice for it, consisting of Palestinian, Arab and Turkish women.

Khader described the interaction of the Turkish feminist community with the Palestinian event as “wonderful,” indicating that about 50 Turkish feminist figures from different communities participated in the “Maqluba al-Nasr,” among them Rawda Kawkci, representative of the ruling Justice and Development Party in Istanbul, the well-known lawyer Golden Sonmes, parliamentarians, officials of official and ministerial institutions and communities. different.

What are the symbolic messages for choosing the inverted as a symbol of the holy bond?

A question asked by Al Jazeera Net to the Palestinian researcher and academic residing in Istanbul, Taghreed Sidawi, who is one of the participants in the "Maqlouba Al-Nasr" breakfast, and she said:

  •  The inverted symbolism is a symbol of a goal that the Palestinian has always been striving to achieve, which is the heart of the Israeli will and plans for the city of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

  •  Al-Maqlooba is no longer just a popular dish, but rather has become a term circulated in the occupation courts, and the Jerusalemites are being investigated.

  •  Because the upside-down has become one of the means of confirming the steadfastness of the Palestinian woman and angering the occupier.

  • Because it is one of the symbols of expressing victory, as some references reported that it was the victory eater in the liberation of Jerusalem in 1187 during the era of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi.

  •  It is a symbol of our people's pride in their heritage, which the occupation is trying to steal and include in their heritage.

    • Justice and Development Party official in Istanbul Marwa Kavukci participates in breakfast in Basaksehir (Al Jazeera)

    great dawn

    Al-Sedawi says that the Turkish community and the Arab communities interact positively with the Jerusalem event through their participation in the activities of the Palestinian community and expressing its solidarity with the Palestinian people, and activating this by several means such as participating in Palestinian activities, establishing solidarity vigils and carrying out popular campaigns such as the "Great Dawn" campaign.

    Here is the fourth Sunday in a row in which Turkish worshipers perform the “Great Dawn” prayer in the historic Suleymaniye Mosque in the European part of Istanbul. Others also prayed it, but for the first time in the famous Basaksehir Mosque and in the Mosque of Konya, in memory of the dawn prayer that Palestinians pray with the intention of Rabat in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

    The Great Dawn has a famous story in the Palestinian territories. It was launched by activists more than a year ago to demand support for Al-Aqsa Mosque and the ribat in it, and to confront attempts to storm it and desecrate it by settlers.

    Berry Cetinoglu, a student at Istanbul University, says that she came with her brother on foot for more than 20 minutes to reach the Sulaymaniyah Mosque to participate in the "Great Dawn" prayer, as an expression of her support for her "brothers" who are stationed in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque at the same time.

    A solidarity stand after the "Great Dawn" prayer at the historic Sulaymaniyah Mosque in Istanbul (communication sites)

    She explained to Al Jazeera Net that she and all her family members care about everything that happens inside Palestine, and is constantly looking for any event through which she can express her solidarity with the Palestinian people, especially with the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

    Like “The Upside Down of Victory,” the “Great Dawn” in Turkey presents a picture of the spread of Jerusalem traditions related to Rabat in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque among the Turks and the Arab communities residing here, especially with the high frequency of confrontations and events in the Holy City and its Palestinian surroundings in the West Bank.

    Al-Quds has a special place in the Turkish Ramadan atmosphere, where many Turks visit this holy city to pray in the Holy Al-Aqsa. The fasting people also call for Jerusalem and its people at the Iftar and Suhoor tables and in the Witr Qunoot after Tarawih prayers, as well as directing many charitable campaigns and donations for the benefit of Jerusalem and the bond there. .