Ramadan Kareem

Yesterday, 1st August, marked the official start of Ramadan, the 9th and holiest month in the Islamic calendar, when all healthy and able Muslims fast, refraining from eating, drinking, smoking (and other sorts of pleasures) from sunrise to sunset.  In Qatar, most businesses open for a short period in the morning but then shut until sunset and open until well past midnight.  Certainly all restaurants remain closed until sunset and non Muslims are asked to avoid eating or drinking in public during the hours of fasting.  There is also not a drop of alcohol to be sold or served in the whole of the country for the entire month (something which I’ll get into more in a future post).

Besides the shops and restaurants, many employers (mine included) adopt Ramadan working hours; for the next 29 days I will only be required to show up to work from 8:30am to 1:30pm.  I am not fasting, although half of the people that I work with are.  We have a kitchen attached to our office that we can go into and eat/drink if we like, but I’m only at work for 5 hours so I tend to have a nice big breakfast before I leave my apartment, and then just wait to have lunch until I’m back home again.

For Muslims, Ramadan is a time of reflection and to think of those less fortunate while fasting.  It’s a test of patience and humility with the realisation that some people have to go with out on a daily basis.  During Ramadan, the day’s fast is broken with the evening meal, called Iftar.  Traditionally, a date is the first thing consumed to break the fast soon after sunset, then attendance to the evening prayer, followed by a full meal.  Iftar is a communal/family affair with a lot of fancy hotels in Doha putting out special buffets for the occasion, and charities offering free Iftar menus in large outdoor tents.

Because Ramadan is based on the Islamic calendar the date is not set and, as it falls in the height of summer this year, Qatar has been hit with a double whammie.

Temperatures now routinely creep into the mid 40s (105-115 F) during the day, relegating most people indoors; I really never go outside for extended periods now unless it’s to sit by the pool.  Qatar is a funny place over the summer, a shell of its former self, as most people save up all of their holiday time, take it in one big chunk, and forgo the oppressive experience that is the desert during the hottest time of the year.  All of the schools in the country are now shut for the summer, most wealthy Qataris have closed shop and headed to more temperate climes, and the majority of everyone else has taken advantage of their above mentioned 25+ vacation days.  Couple these fact with Ramadan and you end up with a country that looks like it’s been deserted in places; the roads are traffic free (I can make it to work, door to door, in about 15 minutes flat), there are plenty of parking spaces at the mall on a Saturday afternoon, and poolside attendance at my apartment complex is waning.  Getting work done that relies on others is a bit tricky too and you need to plan meetings, phone calls and lab work around times that suit Ramadan working hours.

To be honest, I kind of like Qatar during the summer.  I’d like it a whole lot more if it wasn’t so hot but if it wasn’t so hot then it wouldn’t be so empty.

Ramadan Kareem!!