Anyhow, If you had asked me last week, to answer the question, "What good has religion ever done for you?", I would have been hard pressed to find an answer (outside of the litany of emotional scars and insecurities). All told, my exposure to religion has provided me with little more than the minimal theological foundation for a good joke, every now and again.
Until now!
Ramazan started on the 1st of September. Several friends an I rang in the season of fasting and reflection by getting drunk and going to a Beşiktaş match. What can I say, I'm an aspiring hooligan, and no religious holiday is going to change that (Beşiktaş won over Konyaspor, 2-0). Of course, due to the general feeling, among Turks, that those who aren't fasting during Ramadan should show respect for those who are, we found a dark corner of the Çarşı (the meeting place for B-taş fans) and drank there... in shame.
So, my approach to Ramadan (this time around) has been neither a penance nor penitent (I feel it's a good balance to four years ago, when I lived in Damascus and did fast for a month).
Anyhow, to my shame, the Muslim world has repaid my sin with mercy.
Maybe I'm just a sucker for free stuff, but when I got on the bus last night, about an hour before iftar (roughly 6 PM), the machine that registers my AkBil (the public transit smart-pass) was turned off.
The Akbil (see how conveniently it fits on a key chain!)
The Register (switched on)
Before I could ask the driver how I would be able to pay, he explained that it was free until eight. "Ramazan kutlu olsun!" (Happy Ramadan!).
I have heard tale of people, who pass out free break-fast meals, in the evenings. I haven't encountered one yet, but there is even a potential #2 for my list of good things religion has done for me.
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