Ramadan Kareem

That means "Happy Ramadan." If you are like I was, you have no idea what Ramadan is or why it is celebrated. Allow me to explain... Ramadan takes place for a whole month every year, and this year it started at the beginning of September. It is based on the lunar calendar, but not all Muslims start on the same day, because they must wait for their specific religious leader to tell them that the moon is at just the right stage. Apparently this gets a bit political among the different Muslim groups, with each group claiming they are starting on the correct day. Ramadan is a celebration of the revelation of the Quran (the Muslim's book of scripture) to the Prophet Mohammed. Muslims believe that the Prophet Mohammed could not read or right, and so he had to learn and memorize small pieces of the Quran over the month time period. They believe that the Angel Gabriel came to him each day to help him memorize, and then the Prophet Mohammed went back to town and recited back what he had learned to his friends who could read and write. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until dusk. During this time period they abstain from smoking, drinking, food, and sex. It is illegal to eat or drink in public, and doing so can get you a fine or land you in jail. Muslims believe that if you fast all month, any sin you committed during the year is forgiven. They are also supposed to be extra kind to those around them, and engage is charitable work/donations. At the end of Ramadan, they give 2.5% of their assets to charity. Work hours are also reduced, which I am loving. A typical work day for me is 9am-1pm and 3-6pm. (A two hour lunch break is definitely something I could get used to...) During Ramadan, the workday changes to 8:30am-2:30pm. This is to allow people time to spend with their families, read the Quran (everyone is supposed to read the whole thing during the month), and sleep (they stay up really late, and get up early for the morning prayer). Many restaurants are completely shut down for the month, and others open at 5:58pm, or whatever time the sun sets. The evening meal is called Iftar. My friend at work invited me to her house for Iftar last week, and it was delicious. She has gotten used to my weird quirks, and told me I should come early if I was going to feel the need to take pictures of the food, because they were hungry after fasting all day and wanted to start eating on time :) I passed on the pictures--it would have been a bit socially awkward. But she did tell me that I could come over any time and the cook would show me how to make any recipe I liked. I will definitely be taking her up on that offer. I feel very lucky that she is so willing to invite me to her home--everyone told me that Muslims are very cordial in social settings, but do not like to have non-Muslims in their homes. At the end of the evening, her husband told me that Deema (my coworker) would by my sister while I was here. It was very sweet, and I am glad to have her as my sister. Another tradition is the gobga gatherings. I don't know what gobga means, but it is essentially a party that starts late at night, and is held in a big Arabic tent. Most of the nicer hotels have Ramadan tents set up in their parking lots, and Citi hosted a gobga night that I attended. Here are some highlights:
Some of the beautiful lanterns that hang in the tent. The could be compared to our Christmas lights--they are only used during Ramadan.

This is me getting a henna tattoo. I had never had one before, but it is a traditional thing to do. Henna nights are also customary before weddings. The bride-to-be invites all of her friends over and hires a henna artist. It is their version of a bridal shower or a bachelorette party.

The henna looks a bit like puff paint, and when it dries it flakes off, leaving the dark brown imprint behind. I liked my tattoo for about an hour, and I have hated it ever since. It last for about two weeks, and I can't wait until it fades completely. I keep thinking my hand is dirty, and no matter how hard you scrub witha pumice stone or how many times you wash your hands, it is not going anywhere (I speak from experience when I tell you this).

Falconry is a traditional Arabic sport, and here I am with the falcon. As you can see by his face, the falconer was pretty excited to be in my picture. But I wanted you to see the traditional clothes here. The white man dress is called a thobe. It usually doesn't have the gold embellishments, but this must be his special ocassion thobe. The black robe I am wearing is called an abayah. I am not wearing the head scarf because it does not stay put, and so I usually wear it around my neck.