Last night we were very hungry and tired and went out to find a restaurant. We walked a long way but could not find a place to eat. Everything that looked like a restaurant turned out to be a private club. We ended up going back to the restaurant in our hotel. Our waiter explained that there was a special buffet out because of Ramadan. The food was delicious and we wanted to find out more about what exactly Ramadan is.
We learned that Ramadan occurs in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Muslems believe it was during this month that the verses of the Qur’an, the muslim bible, were given to Mohammed. According to the Islamic belief, Mohammed, on a camel caravan was walking in the desert, when the angel Gabriel appeared to him and announced that Mohammed had been chosen to receive the holy words of Allah, God. These words were put in writing and the result was the Qur’an, which is the holy book of the Islamic faith.
During Ramadan there are three main observances: prayer, fasting, and charity. Muslems fast from sunup to sundown and eat a large meal at night to break their fast. Ramadan is a time of self reflection for all Muslems to concentrate on improving their lives. Fasting starts at the age of 12 and includes no drinking of water, which in the hot climate of the Middle East requires a great deal of self-control.
Fasting during Ramadan is called niyyah. At sundown when the fast is broken people often eat dates and drink sweet juices to give them a quick energy boast. Sure enough on the buffet table where we ate, there were some delicious dates stuffed with almonds and five pitchers of various fruit juices. There was a tempting assortment of salads which we steered clear off, in order to avoid getting an upset stomach. There were many different main dishes offered that included chicken, rabbit, veal, and beef.
But the best part was the special desserts made for Ramadan. We enjoyed two special cakes; konafa and qattayef, which are prepared with honey, wheat, raisins, and nuts and were quite tasty.
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