The festive rush in Keup Street in the western city of Cologne in Germany, one of the cities with the highest Turkish and Muslim communities in the Central European country, picked up pace in the last days of Ramadan, as many locals prepare for Ramadan Bayram, or Eid-al-Fitr, festivities, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported Thursday.
The tradespeople and the citizens in the region explained that they are trying to keep the holiday tradition alive even though they are far from their homeland. However, according to reports, overseas Turkish citizens were marking the holiday with a feeling of sadness because of the recent earthquakes in Türkiye.
However, the Eid rush on Keup Street, known as ''Little Istanbul,'' persists, with some visitors emphasizing they are trying to preserve the customs and traditions of the holiday, reminiscing about the bayrams in Türkiye.
Enes Koç, who purchased a gift for his wife before the holiday, described the holidays in Türkiye as "completely different."
"When we go out here, there is no festive atmosphere. Here we go to friends and relatives; we celebrate the holiday within our community here," Koç said.
Another buyer on Keup Street, Hülya Sevinç, who was born and raised in Germany, noted she is not familiar with the bayram tradition in Türkiye but tries to cherish it through what she learned from her family.
"I have two daughters; we are buying gifts for them now ... We visit the loving ones often. This year (bayram) falls on the weekend and we are very happy about that. We buy sweets, make cookies and traditional food. In such a nice Eid atmosphere, merriment takes place," she explained.
Elaborating on the profession he inherited from his father, tradesperson Ismail Aldağ who produces traditional savory baklava, noted that the sales of unique sweets, pide (pita) bread and tahini pita during Ramadan and ahead of the bayram rose by 60%.
In addition, Aldağ also pointed out that apart from the demand from Turks, the interest of Germans in pistachio sweets and walnut baklava also increased.
Ahmet Erdoğan, vice president of the Keup Street Craftsmen's Union for his part, said: "Holidays, naturally, are a joy, happiness as always. On the one hand, there is a bittersweet joy because we are also saddened by the earthquake in our country and the citizens who lost their lives."
Noting that all businesses are preparing for Eid, Erdoğan stated that Keup Street has approximately 120 artisan stores. Highlighting that various types of products can be found along the street, including wedding supplies, gift shops, bakeries and restaurants, he said most of the citizens are of Turkish descent, adding that they have an excellent variety of goods for sale in the neighborhood.
