Daily cannon firings during Ramadan at Madinat Jumeirah
- Publish date: Thursday، 09 May 2019 | Last update: Thursday، 25 February 2021
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One of the most historic traditions of Ramadan, which is expected to run through until Thursday June 5 this year, is the firing of the cannon.
A long-standing tradition, the cannon firing takes place every day before Maghrib prayer, which announces the end of the fasting period and the beginning of iftar.
Tourists and visitors now have the opportunity to witness the daily ceremony, after the announcement that Madinat Jumeirah has partnered with Dubai Police to provide public demonstrations of the firing every day throughout the month.
Taking place on Fort Island at Madinat Jumeirah, sunset is expected between 6.45pm and 7pm this month. The assigning of each of the six cannons falls under the responsibility of the Dubai Police’s General Department of Protective Security and Emergency, and four Dubai Police offers are assigned to each cannon.
Major-General Abdulla Ali Al Gaithi, head of the General Department of Protective Security and Emergency, said “It has been tradition since the 1960s to use cannons to announce iftar every day. We fire around 200 cartridges across Dubai during Ramadan and Eid from the six cannons. Each cannon is fired twice in a row to announce Ramadan, once every day to announce iftar and twice in a row to announce Eid and again twice in the morning of Eid, after Eid prayers”.
The tradition dates as far back as the 10th Century in Egypt to inform locals that it was time for iftar.