Ramadan

Chauncey with her summer reading books

Mark with his summer reading books

Arriving in Doha during Ramadan can be a challenge for many reasons, so I thought it would interesting to make some quick observations about Ramadan and how it affects us.  First we should probably start with a very basic explanation of Ramadan ( I am going to rely on Wikipedia to assist with this....)
Ramadan (Arabic: رمضان‎ Ramaḍān, Arabic pronunciation: [rɑmɑdˤɑːn]) (also Ramadhan, Ramadaan , Ramazan ) is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and sexual relations from dawn until sunset.^[1] Fasting is intended to teach Muslims about patience, humility, and spirituality. It is a time for Muslims to fast for the sake of God (Arabic: الله‎, trans: Allah) and to offer more prayer than usual. During Ramadan, Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds. As compared to the solar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary, moving backwards about eleven days each year depending on the moon. Muslims believe Ramadan to be an auspicious month for the revelations of God to humankind, being the month in which the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.  At sunset, the family will gather the fast-breaking meal known as Iftar. The meal starts with the ritual eating of a date — just as Prophet Muhammad was believed to have done. Then it's time for a prayer to thank Allah followed by the meal.

Now, for how this affects us.....first, everyone is expected to refrain from drinking and eating in public during daylight hours (roughly 5:00 am - 6:00pm), so the restaurants and cafes are all closed during the day.  Really, most everything is closed during the day except grocery stores.  Government agencies and most offices are open from roughly 8:00am - 1:00pm.  Non-Muslims are allowed to eat & drink inside their homes during the day or at one of the resorts/hotels (although even the hotels have limited restaurants open during the day).  Interesting fact - small children, pregnant or menstruating women are exempt from the fast.   Not quite sure I want to prove that I am menstruating just to drink some water in public.........

Gym at the compound - notice the missing water bottle from the cooler

View from my workout area

The wonderful cafe in our compound -- closed for the entire month of Ramadan!!

Second, the call to prayer.  There is literally a mosque on every corner, almost.  And every mosque has a tower with loud speakers to project the call to prayer, which is basically a lay reader singing from the Qur'an to call everyone to come to the mosque to pray.  This happens 5 times per day during non-Ramadan months, and what seems like hourly during Ramadan.  If you look closely at the background to the first photo of  Mark & Chauncey on our street, you can see the mosque in our compound way in the back of the photo.  Chauncey thinks the singing is cool, and it is cool.  But it is also a constant reminder that we are not in the States any longer.  It is a strange feeling to be here.  I have talked with several other wives about it and the consensus seems to be that we feel suspended somehow.  Not at home, but at home somehow.  And it is hard to wrap your head around the fact that we are in the Middle East.....until the call to prayer begins.  So, to quickly recap.....Ramadan equals no restaurants, shops, play areas open during the day.  Also, no beer, wine, or liquor is served anywhere -- even hotels.  Those expats that have a liquor permit had to purchase their stash at the one place that sells alcohol prior to the beginning of Ramadan because the store is closed for the entire month (August 10 - September 11).  No worries....Roger stocked up on wine for me before I arrived, and cases of beer for him.  Most activity takes place between 8:00pm - 1:00am where all the locals are eating out, shopping, and a summer kids fair with rides, etc is even open at night.  Even in the compound where we feel most at home, they have removed the water cooler during the day from the gym/work-out area.  We go to the pool/cauldron around 5:00pm with water bottles stashed in the bottom of our pool bags waiting to hear the 6:00pm call to prayer, then we all bring out the water bottles, or head into the Costa coffee shop which just opened for the day for a quick snack or drink.  We have been told that arriving during Ramadan is extremely difficult.  All I can say is I am very thankful for Nintendo dsi, and for the small pack of  dvds, and books that I brought for the kids.  As a family, we are spending a lot of time together playing UNO and meeting other families at the pool.  Not a bad way to spend Ramadan.  We could all use some reflecting time to focus on what is truly important in our lives.