REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, ISTANBUL -- A charitable Ramadhan dinner known as "earth table" was hosted on Saturday evening in Istanbul's well-known Istiklal Avenue to mark the first fasting break of the holy Muslim month.

Around 500 people prepared the meals at home and brought them to a giant floor table set up on Istiklal, a pedestrian thoroughfare at the center of Istanbul.

Passersby were invited to join the "earth table" that started from the middle part of the street and stretched to the adjoining Taksim Square, drawing both locals and tourists.

Earth Table Volunteers, a local NGO and host of the event, had extended invitations on social media, saying: "Let's meet at the earth table and set an example of equality, justice, freedom and fraternity."

The so-called "earth tables" became popular through the country during massive anti-government protests in 2013, with a view to sharing food with anyone on the streets, in particular economically troubled people.

"Here what these people display is pure solidarity," a man named Kutay Gurol told Xinhua. "There is neither an ideology nor a political understanding here. All we have is humanity."

Yasemin Yavuz, a young woman, said the earth tables are the opposite of sultans' tables. "With this people's dining table we are drawing the attention to hunger and poverty," she added.

During the month-long Ramadan, Muslims across Turkey, like those in other countries, go through annual fasting from sunrise until sunset. The end of Ramadan will be celebrated by a three-day festival called Eid al-Fitr. 

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika