Navruz Sumalak Ceremony in Ramat Gan

Steel-blue twilight washes over a crowded street in Ramat Gan where participants stir massive copper cauldrons of sumalak. Early winter coats the pavement in a thin, frosty sheen, while dramatic clouds stack heavily above the procession. Men and women in traditional embroidered robes move with rhythmic precision, their wooden paddles dipping into the thick, amber paste. The most striking anomaly appears in the shadows: long, dark silhouettes stretch backward toward the streetlamps instead of away from them, defying the physics of the blue hour. The copper pots reflect the moody sky, their surfaces rippling with the motion of the stirrers. A woman's red scarf stands out against the cool tones, her hand gripping a handle as the impossible shadow points directly at the warm glow of the lamp post behind her.