Fasting makes you eat too much; Ramadan in Egypt

"Fasting is very bad for you. You eat too much!" our taxi driver Sabry burst out while patting his stomach, making a bad face. As contradictory as it may sound, Sabry expressed the very spirit of Egyptian Ramadan. Apparently people gain weight during Ramadan, the month of fasting, because ever night after sun down is a feast, and people stay up all night partying, and end up eating way too much.

This week we went to two different iftar. One was arranged by the AUC at the university campus, and another was arranged by our downstairs neighbors (the husband is Courtney's department colleague) at their house. Tomorrow we are going to yet another iftar arranged by another neighbor and department colleague; it appears to be the week of iftar.

The AUC event was nicely arranged with a buffet and tables set out in the garden. When iftar was announced, a noticeable amount of fasting Muslims hurried up to the buffet tables for food. It was the usual Egyptian style food, and for dessert they served a very tasty bread pudding. As always, the food was accompanied by fresh mango juice, which we enjoy.

The downstairs neighbor event was wonderful in that it was enjoyed amongst friends, and our neighbor had especially invited a few Egyptian friends who indeed had been fasting all day. They preferred to rush slowly however, arguing that a huge meal eaten quickly would spoil the pleasure. Seeing that Muslims not only refrain from food all day, but also drink, they started with large glasses of water and juice. After dinner Emed’s beautiful 14-year-old daughter Khouda showed us how to tie a veil, which came quite in handy today since I was required to wear one during our visits to mosques this morning.

End of next week is Eid, which is the end of Ramadan, and life will be back to normal again.