ramadan kareem

Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, lasting up to 31 days, and is the holiest month for Muslims.  during Ramadan the Qur'an was shown to Muhammad.   it is a time for self-examination, to cleanse the body, rejuvenating the soul, and connecting with God.  one is to refrain from drinking, eating, smoking and sex during daylight hours.  at night you can indulge.  most nights are spent friends and family to share a meal and to give gifts.  it is also a time to give back, one must volunteer and help those in need.  one night at the mall the children dressed up in traditional clothing and went from shop to shop getting sweets. 

some non-Muslims find this holiday a large inconvenience because it affects you, restaurants are closed, limited shopping hours, a longer list of  'don'ts' that if not followed will have consequences, and most of the people i had met would not be here.  so here were my challenges:

challenge #1  - find friends who will be here    
      in April the wednesday group i was introduced too consisted of about 15 women for august it is the three musketeers - Lisa, Eva, and I.  we have manged to meet each week and what is suppose to be a few hours turns into all day. 

challenge #2 - find out what is open and what time
      each hotel has 1 restaurant that is open - a buffet that is hidden with wooden screens
      the malls / most shops not in the mall are open sunday to thursday: 10am-12:30pm and 8pm-1am 
                                  friday: 8pm-am and saturday 10am-midnight
      the market has its normal hours - it is okay to buy food and drinks just don't eat it in public
      the pearl (where we live) is open from 8pm-1am everyday for august
    
   dressing here became a concern because it is important to respect the people here and the holiday so expats are asked to dress conservative.  but what does that mean, try to cover your elbows and knees, nothing tight and no tank tops, so a sweater and leggings at all times. :)

challenge #3- DO IT
    the ladies and i met at Eva's for some lunch and we were going to discuss what we had found on Ramadan on the internet.  there is so much more to it than what i have shared so if you have the time then i would hit the google search engine and explore.  the next day we decided on the fabric souq and local arts n crafts store.  i am in love with the arts n crafts store they have everything: paper, ribbon, hair clips, trim, fabric, feathers, crystals, yarn, thread, buttons, gift wrap, jewelry making items, and it is all super reasonable.  with too much time in this store and exploring the fabric shops we came into the problem of, its 12:15 and people are about to leave so we grabbed a taxi headed to the ramada hotel for an afternoon lunch.

    i was also introduced to the gold souq, a market of gold, diamonds, rubies, if it is bling than they have it.  we came across a store that would clean our rings, so they took us up stairs and we found where they make the jewelry.  everything in the shop is made by hand, you can bring a picture in or design it your self.  the manager explained what each person was making and how, some of the machinery is from the 1800's, crazy cool.  the craftsmen were second and third generation, this is all that they know and their work was beautiful.  i will be back. 

    jewelry making 101- lisa took me to one of her jewelry making classes.  lisa makes some of the coolest things. i am hooked, and will be returning this week for some more fun. last week i made two necklaces and a friend, turns out one of the girls in the class is also my neighbor.  small world. 


so thats has been my month so far.  sorry no pics, but i will post some tomorrow of my other hobby - cooking ... ah.. its time for dinner here.

~xoxo mo