Karen, our beloved tour organizer on the BBS tells us about Ramadan

Annual events in the Islamic calendar do vary from year to year, the reason being that the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar and months begin when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. Because the calendar has no correction for the fact that the lunar year is 11-12 days shorter than the solar year, Ramadan migrates throughout the seasons - therefore each annual event starts 11-12 days earlier than the previous year. The holy month of Ramadan will start this year on or around October 4th (depending on the crescent moon sighting) and end on or around November 3rd.

Visiting Egypt during Ramadan has both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantages, at least those that affect tourists, include:

… shorter hours at tourist sites - most will close by 3pm in order to give people time to get home to break the fast at dusk with their families

… many shops will close early also; the larger ones have a set Ramadan schedule and may close for up to 2 hours, while smaller local shops normally take a 30 minute or so break to eat

… some local restaurants will be closed during daylight fasting hours, but open in the early evening. Others, such as fast food restaurants in tourist areas, may stay open as usual. NOTE: While foreign tourists are not expected to observe the fast, I always recommend that visitors show their respect for their Egyptian hosts by not eating, drinking and smoking out in public. By this I don’t mean you shouldn’t carry around a bottle of water with you, I’m talking more in terms of walking down the street eating McDonalds for example!
Of course hotels and cruise boats are a different matter entirely, their restaurants will be open as usual and you may eat, drink and smoke as you wish.

… chaos on the streets - avoid trying to get around town (especially Cairo) in the two hours before dusk, as the majority of the population is on the move
- tired, hungry and trying to get home in time to break the fast in horrendous traffic jams, so tempers sometimes flare!

… it’s not the ideal time to try and conduct business in Egypt, as everything happens at a more, shall we say, “relaxed” pace. That, coupled with the shorter working hours and the effects of fasting and staying up all night (see below) makes productivity plummet! However, this doesn’t normally effect tourism per se.

… I wouldn’t recommend trying to do any desert excursions or wilderness safaris during this period - I doubt you’d find a guide willing to undertake such an excursion while fasting, unless he’s Christian of course.

… you won’t see any traditional weddings in the 5-star hotels, etc. as people don’t get married during Ramadan. Also you won’t see any belly dancers during the holy month!

As for the advantages of visiting Egypt during Ramadan:

… culturally, it’s a very interesting time to be here. There is very much a community spirit that prevails during the month, everyone is more or less on the same schedule, everyone is fasting together (I estimate at least 90% of the population), and generally speaking people are a little more serene and get on together better - lol!

Despite the pre-dusk chaos on the streets that I mentioned, once the “break fast” starts the chaos is quickly replaced by a feeling of serenity and peace as people are in their homes eating and praying with their families. It’s certainly the quietest and calmest period you’ll ever experience in Egypt - lol! It’s quite something to imagine millions of people all doing the same thing at the same time, united in their beliefs and traditions.

And if you are lucky enough to be invited to an Egyptian home to break the fast it is a special opportunity that you shouldn’t pass up! The ladies of the household prepare gargantuan meals - there are even special dishes associated with Ramadan - everyone eats their fill and then passes out in front of the TV for a while… reminds me of my childhood Christmases back in the UK, except here they repeat the ritual every day for 30 days - lol!
Usually the first few days of Ramadan are reserved for family get togethers, thereafter people tend to throw their homes open to friends and guests and so it’s a very good time for socializing.

Evenings are very special, festive occasions… after the first (quiet) week of Ramadan people get more into the party spirit and become practically nocturnal! We tend to say that Cairo is the city that never sleeps, but it’s even more lively during Ramadan as all activity intensifies overnight! People spend all night down by the Nile, on the bridges, in the parks and gardens, filling the down town streets. You’ll find shops, cafes and restaurants open practically all night, with many places offering special entertainment programs with famous musicians and singers, or sometimes folkloric shows.

Many of the bigger restaurants and hotels set up special Ramadan tents where the entertainment goes on all night, up to the time when people must take their final meal (called “suhour”) before the fast starts again at dawn.

Even the streets themselves are more festive, with shops and businesses decorated with streamers and brightly coloured traditional Ramadan lanterns called “fawanees”, hand-made from tin and coloured glass. This tradition dates back a 1000 years or so when such lanterns were used to light the procession which went to view the moon and to announce the start and end of each day’s fast. In the 15th century the governor of Cairo ordered everybody to put such a lantern in front of their house, a tradition that still continues today! I love the fawanees, I go every year to buy one or two from certain areas in old Islamic Cairo where they are still hand made.

As we say in Arabic on special/traditional occasions: KULL SANA WINTU TAYYIBEEN! Literally: May you be well every year!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 7th, 2005 at 8:25 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.