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Record-breaking iftar serves over 50,000 in capital
Nearly 75,000 Ankarites showed up for the iftar (fast-breaking dinner), which was held at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) with a setup that included table space and chairs for 50,000 people. On the menu was lentil soup, rice pilaf, stir-fried meat, ayran, dates, olives, honey, butter and other traditional iftar appetizers, salad and baklava for dessert.
Three separate catering companies prepared food for the event, cooking eight tons of meat, five tons of rice and two tons of garbanzo beans, in addition to 60,000 servings of pide bread, 60,000 units of ayran and 120,000 bottles of water.
The chairs of course were not enough, and so plates of food were distributed to people who then went and sat in nearby bleachers and on the grass to eat. People had been shuttled to the AKM by municipal buses from neighboring districts, while some minibuses and public buses were set aside to serve the iftar area for free. Some attendees were unable to get any food at all; those who participated in the iftar were given tickets free of charge to the Lunapark amusement park.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other ministers also participated in the event.
The iftar had an undeniable political edge to it as well -- the food packaging had writing printed on it supporting “yes” votes in the upcoming constitutional amendment referendum slated for Sept. 12.
Large projection screens were set up at different locations throughout the AKM, on which images from the iftar were displayed live. Some attendees wore campaign gear supporting “yes” votes in the referendum, such as a group wearing “Drivers and Chauffeurs Also Vote Yes.”
A large round table was reserved for the prime minister, other ministers and bureaucrats and members of the organizing platforms. Speaking at the iftar, Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek also addressed the topic of the referendum in his comments. “We are undergoing an important and difficult test for the future of Turkey and our children and for democracy,” he said. Gökçek also criticized political parties that are running campaigns in favor of “no” votes in the referendum.
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