My 1st Full-Blown Ramadan EVER

July 31, 2011 4 Comments

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/happy_serendipity/

Being born and bred in the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country, I’ve never experienced Ramadan. It was only relevant to me when the government declared special non-working holidays during Eid, which makes us jump for joy especially if weekends are extended.

Soooo I have very little knowledge and know how about the Ramadan practices, both accepted and abhorred. I even posted some queer Ramadan questions to The Husband and new found Dubai friends (Waving to all FIA people!). Here’s a sampler of them questions:

Jerusalem Muslim Quarter by Derric Wong

  • Since people are not allowed to eat AND drink before sunset, are groceries / supermarkets closed to the public before sunset? Just a backgrounder: Restaurants are only open after sunset. So that was clear. But when The Husband and I saw a lady fill up (or rather overload) her SUV with 6-grocery carts worth of stuff. OMG! That’s when I thought about the question.
  • Are we allowed to post on our blogs during Ramadan?!? People are fasting and I don’t want to be called out as a source of temptation. I just wanted to be clear so that I don’t end up offending anyone or leading somebody into breaking his / her fast.

Call me ignorant or naive, but hey, at least I did ask.

For some strange reason, I am giddy excited about my 1st Ramadan experience! :-) It IS a first. You always get super excited for first times right?

Plus, I’ve heard about Iftar. According to Wikipedia and The Husband (is he even a reliable source of information?), Iftar is the evening meal, right after sunset, when Muslims break their 12-14ish hour fast.

Here in Dubai, a lot of hotels and restaurants take advantage of Iftar to cater to the needs of Muslims about to break their fast and fill up their stomachs in preparation for another fasting day.

KFC has their Iftar offer too! (Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/chijs/)

Pizza hut too (Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/amigarad/)

These Iftars are not exclusive to Muslims, so they also cater to non-Muslim customers like The Husband. He’s had his fill of a number of Iftar dinners in the past 3 years here in Dubai, and he wants me to experience the Iftar too. Ohhhhhh! Just the thought of having my 1st Iftar makes me giddy excited and my tummy grumble! Harharhar! Iftar dinners (is this redundant or what?) here I come!

And we just heard on the news this morning that Ramadan officially starts tomorrow. So Ramadan Kareem to everyone!

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/shai5ah/

Dear Muslim foodie friends, pls do feel free to comment on my post. I would love to learn more about Ramadan since this is my very 1st one ever :-) Ramadan Kareem!

Delirious about delicious,

Didi

 

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  • http://food.devinadivecha.com/ Devina Divecha

    Hi Didi…

    I’m not Muslim so I don’t fast during Ramadan, but having lived in the UAE for nearly 22 years now, I think it’s a part of my life.

    To answer your questions first, supermarkets and grocery stores will not be closed. You just cannot eat outdoors. The lady you saw was probably hoarding up for Iftars (the time when Muslims break the fast) and Suhoors (the morning meal before the fasting begins).

    As for blogging, there is no problem with you posting about food. What I did last year though, was post all my food posts after Iftar, not because I had to, but because I would rather more people read and enjoy the post without giving them hunger pangs. It was my personal choice, not an enforced one.

    Most of the people who fast frankly don’t care whether you eat in front of them or not. Most aren’t bothered by the smell or sight of it. Certainly all my fasting friends have no issues with me eating/drinking in front of them, and many have told me, if there’s no challenge, what’s the point of their fast?

    Another thing, not *all* restaurants will be closed. Some will section off their restaurant with dividers, curtains or whatever and still serve to people. I’ve, for example, gone on a lunch in DIFC last year while Ramadan was on, with the restaurant in question having cordoned off its area. It depends on place to place.

    As a non-Muslim, I can tell you that Ramadan is almost like any other month for us. Just remember not to stay outdoors for too long in the heat because you will feel like drinking water, and you won’t be able to.

    Enjoy your Iftar dinner – I’ve found that by fasting myself on the days I’ve gone for an Iftar, I enjoy it more. Try it :)

    • Didi

      @ Devina: I so love the comprehensive comment! I love it, love it, love it! I do appreciate being part of FIA now :-) I think I will do the fast before we go on Iftar. I should ask The Husband when so that I can prepare. But perhaps I will just skip the food but drink water…for now. Maybe I can try fasting without food and water next

      Shaima made an enlightening post about ramadan here http://blog.lgeimatjunkies.com/ramadan-meal-rituals.

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