Addis Ababa Grand Street Iftar

Meskel Square hosts the flagship staging of Ethiopia's nationwide Grand Street Iftar, where thousands gather at sunset during Ramadan to share the fast-breaking meal together. Organized under a theme referencing Nejashi, the Aksumite king remembered for sheltering early Muslims, the Addis Ababa gathering is the largest of dozens of simultaneous iftars held across Ethiopian cities.

Meskel Square, Addis Ababa's largest public plaza and normally the stage for national parades and Meskel's own Demera bonfire, becomes the flagship site of Ethiopia's nationwide Grand Street Iftar during Ramadan, when the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council coordinates simultaneous communal fast-breaking meals across dozens of cities and towns on the same evening.