‘It’s not ours any more’: the changing face of Lakemba’s Ramadan night markets

Food vendors prepare meals during the Ramadan Nights food markets in Lakemba in Sydney’s south-west on 22 March. Photograph: Steven Saphore/AAP

Fauzan Ahmad has watched the Ramadan night markets in Sydney’s Lakemba grow from a low-key, informal gathering to a full-scale festival.

The food markets, held annually in the suburb that is a significant hub for Muslims in Sydney, have grown in popularity in recent years. Today Ramadan Nights attracts thousands of people from across the city – Muslim and non-Muslim – to Haldon Street.