via http://www.thenational.ae – The blast is an echo of simpler times, before most people owned a clock or watch and there were no loudspeakers or TV channels to announce maghrib. But in an age of iPhones and prayer applications, the Ramadan cannon remains as popular as ever.
Its origins are uncertain. Some historians believe the custom dates back as far as 10th century Egypt, when one of the Fatimid caliphs ordered a cannon be placed on Cairo’s Muqatam Hill so all Muslims would hear the signal to break their fasts.
via Iftar cannon resound through ages – The National.
Ismailimail 