Ramadan in Beirut

Ramadan, considered the most holy of Islamic months, is now in full swing.

Those who wish to follow the recommended path should fast from dawn to dusk each day, giving the money that would otherwise be spent to those in greater need; if preferred, food prepared for meals not taken can be given away instead.

It is not a gentle routine to follow, fasting means not letting anything past the lips, not solid, nor fluid, other than the air for breathing from sun-up to sunset. That means water is out, and so is smoking. It must be difficult enough when Ramadan falls in the winter months, as it did when I first came here, the implication being an abstinence of some ten hours, but now, in August, sixteen hours of no sustenance of any kind is indicated and it’s seriously hot as well. Denial on such scale needs stamina.

So what’s the coping strategy?

Start the day with a good breakfast; Lebanese breakfasts are described elsewhere in this blog, so I won’t do it again, just be sure to finish it before sunrise. Stay out of the sun, conserve energy, take a siesta if you can, oh, and be born with the right genes. I like to have a cup of tea, coffee or glass of water beside me during the day, but for many in this region, a drink before leaving home in the morning keeps them going till the evening meal.

Talking of the evening meal, it’s known as Iftar during Ramadan. It’s usually of a celebratory nature, involving either the extended family or business group. For about an hour before sunset, you see people running hither and yon with bread, cakes, skewers of meat, and warm bags of I don’t know what in preparation for the event. I’ve never dared ask how someone can cook without tasting! Cannons are fired to mark the hour of sunset, at which point the first fluid, in the form of a fruit drink laced with nuts, is taken. Called a jellab, it shares etymology with the American South’s julep, but the ingredients are rather different! And then the meal is served.

For about an hour after sunset, shops are closed and the roads deserted, then the district comes alive again as shops open late, sweets and ice-cream are purveyed on street corners, friends and relatives are visited and the streets are filled.

Yet the general daily rhythm doesn’t appear to me to have suffered, businesses operate more or less as usual, restaurants open for lunch, banks stick to their usual hours and the sounds from the street stay much the same.

I remember, some years ago now, seeing a banner across a street in Hamra, a mixed business, retail and hotel district in Beirut. It said, "Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Ramadan Karim", Ramadan was running over the Christmas and New Year periods then. Perhaps, now the feasting is separated by months, each festival will help to inspire us all to embrace diversity. I certainly hope so.