Iftar, Iftar, Iftar!!!

Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. Iftar is taken right after Maghrib time, which is around sunset. Traditionally but not mandatory, three dates are eaten to break the fast in emulation of theIslamic Prophet Muhammad, who broke his fast in this manner. Many Muslims believe that feeding someone in iftar as a form of charity is very rewarding and that such was practiced by the Prophet Muhammad.

The above is a brief synopsis I "borrowed" from our HR person when promoting our company's Iftar, which I thought was well written. When people talk about Ramadan, you mostly hear about Iftar's because that is when the fun begins, socializing and eating. It is a time for business meetings, family gatherings, friends (expats) gatherings, and very communal. Iftar is usually spent with families, hence I wrote friends and "expats" in () because since we don't have families here, we celebrate with friends and more often than not Muslims chose to be with family (from what I understand).

I don't remember the last Ramadans being so... active! It's hardly been a week since Ramadan started and I think I've already had 4 Iftar's, phew! Because I am still drinking water and eating, I'm not overindulging in Ifar dinners, as it is easy to do. Most fasts get broken with dates, as mentioned above and then something light, like soup. But remember only odd number dates! The first couple of days are always tough, but now it seems that those that are fasting are getting used to it and patients are a bit less... actually I don't know how to describe it. Because we are in the heat of summer, many are slow moving and sleepy, others may be a bit short (meaning short tempered) and others (many) are as it were any other day. 

I was laughing with my colleagues because generally (not always of course) Arabs are known to run a little bit late, right? But somehow not only are they now coming in ON TIME but even early! Very early! It is almost odd! I know traffic is less, but I think that another reason is that most people are resting at home and since they are doing not much else, they leave early and taking advantage of one of the activities of the day. Of course it's great to have patients come on time, but that also means that I literally have NO rest time!!!! We are doing 9-4 shifts with a microscopic 15 min break (which we are finishing up with the previous patient, trying to gulp down our food AND finish our morning notes). It's actually anxiety provoking to rush so much and it passes in a blink of an eye. Oh well, hope I'll get used to the rush! So yes, have been sleeping like a baby and feeling utterly exhausted! 

Soooo, now having a wee bit more time in my life, I thought it would be nice to write another little update about Ramadan and the all important Iftar just because it is finally something I can appreciate about Muslim culture. Life is soo slow now here it is just awesome! Malls are empty, roads are clear, and.... I just feel soo relaxed! 

Now if I could just finish off my "Ramadan List of Things to Do," haha. Have made progress, but also get distracted easy! 

Here are some pics from our company Iftar, which was at a nice revolving restaurant called "Al Dawaar" at the Park Hyatt. Super nice and really, the floors moved! Almost made me dizzy :-)

Anyhoo, we got some nice pics nonetheless, many of our physio team :-) :

 As before, Ramadan Kareem!