Ramadan's Journal #11

YouTube has a special channel for Ramadan. Check out HERE.

You will not find prayers, preaching or discussions. All you will find is SOAP OPERA. Yes, that's it: during Ramadan special soaps and television series are aired. What's better than having families meeting for dinner - and obviously watching TV together? :-P

The channel has series from several countries where Muslims are majority and, therefore, depicts distinct faces of MENA - with tons of drama. From rich posh characters and women in clothes I wouldn't dare to wear to belly dances and sheesha; from that "tendencious" Arabic flair to MTV more modern verve: only you need to understand Arabic, because there is no subtitles. But even if you don't,  it's worth to check at least the first minutes of some of them, because they show some kind of main scenes with some pop/folk music in the background.

Enjoy!

Ramadan's Journal #10

Two or three weeks before the Ramadan's month start and people begin to prepare themselves for it, prices in the [super] market skyrocket. Every Iftar is a (mini) feast, everyday people are going to eat a lot and in the end, when Eid comes, there will be Eid's Feast and parties everywhere.

The worst thing is that prices don't come back to "normal". Humpf! =(

Ramadan's Journal # 9

Break is over. Readers are starting to pose questions and this is the point when I really start enjoying blogging - when we can have some interaction. Nonetheless, before answering their questions, we'll talk about Iftar and the effects of it in the everyday life. Iftar is the fast-breaking meal at sunset.

Yesterday I arrived when the sun was setting.

That meant most of the people were already getting ready for Iftar. And the streets were again quiet, with the exception of crazy drivers wanting to arrive home as soon as the accelerator would permit. Therefore, instead of waiting too much for a taxi or having a rive that could kill me before getting home, I decided that the suitcase and I would go home... walking. It made my back ache, but 20 minutes isn't anything. To cross some airports you would spend more time than I did. =P 

Today, I relived again the experience of fasting because I was out in the streets. Actually in museums, but I am a NERD and I am MAD about museums, so I spent 6 hours in two places and didn't get to see half of the first. 

When I came back home I needed to buy some food. I had an empty fridge after all. The bread's vendors comes shouting along my way: 3AISH!!!!! 3AISH!!!!! The most delicious bread is guaranteed: the local bread or 3aish baladi in my backpack. 

The drinks' vendor also need to make a living, fasting or not. People can't drink in the streets, but nothing forbids them to buy the drinks. Many local drinks are sold in charts like this: 

Globosapiens.net is the owner of this picture. ;-)

But today they were sold in plastic bags, so that people can take the drinks home. A plus to creativity. 

I couldn't resist and had to buy some of the tmar hindi (tamarind) drink. Drink in the grocery tote and heading home, to find the fakahaani ("fruitier") selling a kind of fruit I didn't know before coming here: 

He tells me the name of the fruit is teen. If he says, it is. But the translation for it is figs, and this obviously isn't figs. The fruit skin is very prickly and the fakahaani will always take the skin for you and sell you the fruit ready-to-eat. =) 

The pink ones are the sweetest. Teens in the backpack and - home! After all I need a Iftar for my involuntary fasting. ;-)

By the way, you should read all Arabic transliteration as in English. And the sound of '3' is like a glottal "A". So just read a long "A". =P 

Ramadan's Journal #8

The only remambrance of Ramadan is the lack of remambrance. =)

Red Sea out...

 ... and in.  

Taking a break! 

PS: source of second photo is: http://www.dahab-info.com/images/rasmohmmed.jpg 

Ramadan's Journal #7

Today, still a bit on the subject of traffic, an extract from a magazine called "Oasis" on an article about Ramadan:

[...] fasting Muslims are not supposed to smoke while fasting. This will have a strong effect on the drivers [...] as the insanity and road rage will be felt more than usual and [they] will test the very limits of Physics as they attempt to perform driving maneuvers participants in the Indy 500 would baulk at. Taxis and buses  will also stop running at least half an hour before sunset and if you are going far, they will probably decline to take you. 

Ramadan's Journal #6

Another thing that is deeply affected by Ramadan is the traffic. The traffic isn't crazy in the whole MENA region, but here it's probably the craziest (and I'm talking as a Brazilian. I'm used to a lawless traffic). As a friend well pointed out: the three lane streets easily become a five lane street.

Last Friday, first Ramadan's day, was the quietest day I've ever witnessed here so far. Friday, as I've mentioned before, is the equivalent of Sunday in more Christian and/or Western countries, so Friday morning is usually quiet - for local patterns, not that I didn't wish it to be even quieter (But, then, it's me in my love for silence and solitude. My problem, that's all). I  wish we had more days like that! =)

Luckily not only Friday was quieter than usual, but while people are at home eating, in the evening, silence reigns in the streets once more. Imagine that everybody is now using their mouths to get some food inside, instead of shouting, talking, quarelling, laughing.

An extremely busy street in early morning (not on Friday, tho). 

Ramadan's Journal #5

Ramadan's colours are blue, green, orange and yellow. About 20 - 15 days prior to the first day, people start putting up decorations outside and inside.

Residencial buildings are decorated:

As well as shops. Some of them look like giant tents (still couldn't have a photo of one of them, but I will still try, in the future):

This decoration motive is called "Khayameyya". Lanterns are also used everywhere: windows, cars and wherever you can hang one.