Oruç Baba

"Oruc Baba" is a Turkish name, which comes from "oruc", which means "fasting" and "baba" which means "father".

Oruc Baba was a prominent Muslim of the mediaeval Ottoman Empire He lived in Istanbul. He was fasted on a daily basis, although it is enough to be fasting for one month, during "Ramadan". Another fact about Oruc Baba is that he was an extraordinary Muslim with a deep knowledge of Islam and thus he had no interest in money and was very poor.

It is not certain, but it is believed that the poverty of Oruc Baba was so grave that he for his "iftar" (the meal in the evening after fasting during the day) he ate only a piece of bread with vinegar on it.

Nowadays some hundreds of people gather near the holy grave of Oruc Baba in Istanbul and eat their evening meal in "Ramadan" with just a piece of bread and vinegar. They believe Oruc Baba will help them in the future.