The popular Matareya neighborhood - east of the Egyptian capital, Cairo - is hosting the largest annual iftar party in the country for the tenth year (Reuters)

The largest annual iftar party was held in the popular Matareya neighborhood - east of the Egyptian capital, Cairo - yesterday, Monday, March 25, 2024, corresponding to Ramadan 15, under the slogan: “For the tenth year... a neighbor and a ten.”

According to the organizers of the event, “More than 10,000 citizens attended the iftar, with no room for a foothold... great crowding at the group iftar organized by the Matareya neighborhood in Cairo. The streets were decorated with distinctive murals and graffiti.”

As was the annual custom on the 15th of Ramadan, the people of the Ezbet Hamada area in the Matareya neighborhood received, for the tenth year, a number of ministers, ambassadors, representatives of Parliament, content makers, and Arab influencers.

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Ashraf Sobhi, the Egyptian President’s Advisor for Religious Affairs, Osama Al-Azhari, and the current Minister of Immigration, Soha Gendi and the former, Nabila Makram, were keen to participate in the breakfast, along with a number of artists, celebrities, and members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Minister of Immigration participates in the “Mataria Iftar” and confirms: Egypt taught the world love and tolerance

Details 👇 https://t.co/Hc4oX6y4Yi

....#Ministry_of_Immigration#Soha_Jundi#EGYME pic.twitter.com/dnfuK3Zks2

- Egyptian Ministry of Immigration (@moemigegy) March 25, 2024

The iftar ceremony witnessed a wide participation of artists, media figures, and public figures, as well as a number of young Egyptians residing abroad, and foreign tourists from Germany and Russia, according to what the Egyptian Prime Minister said.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports said that Minister Ashraf Sobhi attended the celebration “in response to the invitation of the youth of Matareya, and in fulfillment of the promise to attend the current version of the Iftar, during the Minister of Sports’ meeting with the organizers of the Iftar last year.”

Among the delicious and varied food of meat, rice, refreshing juices and sweets, thousands of fasting people ate their breakfast on those tables that are prepared in a large kitchen in Ezbet Hamada, which hosts the entire Iftar financially and is organized by the youth of the neighborhood.

The hashtag “#Iftar_al-Matariyya” trended on social media platforms, and local newspapers quoted the committee organizing the iftar party as saying that they received about 25,000 citizens from the people of Matariya and outside it in 7 streets, with a table that could accommodate about 10,000 fasting people.

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A post shared by Hamkree (@hmkreeee)

Similar to the song “Ramadan in Egypt is something else” by Emirati singer Hussein Al Jasmi, children in the area chanted “Ramadan in Matareya is something else,” and aerial footage on the Instagram platform showed a number of streets in the area crowded with thousands of citizens.

Youth fashion show

Yesterday, video clips documented by photographers spread through their lenses, showing some of the banners and touching shots witnessed at the Matareya Iftar, which included joyful appearances and a men’s fashion show.

@riskyboys__

Catwalk in [Matariyya]. . #riskyboys #catwalkinegypt #catwalk #egypt #fyp

♬ original sound – RISKY BOYS

Palestine is strongly present

Palestine was strongly present this year during the longest Ramadan table in Egypt, due to the war that Israel has been waging on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, as the atmosphere flared with chants of support for Palestine and the raising of its flag on the facades of houses in the popular neighborhood.

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A post shared by Kareem Alaa | Karim Alaa (@_kareemalaa_)

The atmosphere flared up in the popular area after participants in the iftar chanted slogans in support of Palestine, including “With our soul and our blood, we sacrifice for you, O Palestine,” over the lights of fireworks, while some raised Palestinian flags from the balconies of homes.

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A post shared by Abdullah Mansour | Abdullah Mansour (@abdullah_mansour2)

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A post shared by Fathia Elsisi (@tu7aaelsisi)

Muhammad Muftah, one of the breakfast coordinators, told the local newspaper Al-Watan: “We were keen for Free Palestine to be present in every detail of preparing the Matariya breakfast table, in solidarity with the proud people, and in support of the steadfastness of the people of Gaza.”

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A post shared by Ahmed Emad (@ahmed_emadphotography)

He added: "We did everything to show solidarity with the bereaved people of Gaza. We prepared trays with pictures of the martyrs of Gaza and the Palestinian flag. In addition to decorating the streets with the Palestinian flag, we told the world that Egypt's official and popular position is the same and that the Palestinian issue is our issue."

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A post shared by photographer 📷 (@sara_nabil28)

Egyptian broadcaster Rania Badawi said in a blog post on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter): “The most important thing this year is that the Matareya table upset the Zionists, as chants of support for the people of Gaza rose to be heard far and wide without prior organization or agreement.”

The scene most worth watching and contemplating in #Ramadan is the #Iftar scene, as it carries within it many important messages, perhaps the most prominent of which is that it is a huge event #sponsored by the people,


neither a president, nor a government, nor a district, nor an institution, nor a party, nor an association.


The ability to organize without a general leader, the accuracy of the arrangement without a single leader on the scene


is illuminated… pic.twitter.com/NtaBwpiAtn

— Rania Badawy (@RaniaBadawy) March 25, 2024

Since 2013, the Matareya Iftar has been held, and its idea is to create an Iftar table in which all the people participate with their own efforts, turning it into the longest Ramadan table in Egypt, and the Iftar did not stop until 2020 and 2021 due to the Corona pandemic.

Source: Al Jazeera + Egyptian press + social networking sites