Naeem's Blog

The most intriguing time of the Ramadan day is around Iftar time. I'm always fascinated by the buzz generated by the oncoming sunset.

The streets are busy with men running pre-iftar errands for the household. Grocery stores are crowded with shoppers. Take-out restaurants are overflowing with last minute orders. The streetside vegetable markets are packed to the extent of causing serious traffic jams.

Traffic

It never ceases to amaze me how Muslims (even the non-practicing ones) will patiently persevere all day long, not eating, drinking, or smoking, and then in the last hour before Maghrib, their patience runs out.

Cars are racing recklessly to reach their destination, without a care for others on the road.

It's been reported in several newspapers that car accidents are at the highest right before Iftar. I've been witness to so many red-lights being run that when I'm ever crossing an intersection (with my light being green), I proceed extremely cautiously, weary of a salivating young Saudi dreaming of fried sambosas and sweet juicy dates instead of yielding to the traffic signals.

Take a look at these two interesting articles highlighting the pre-Iftar problem:

"The doctor said that fights, too, seem to bring bleeding patients to the ER, especially before the iftar when there’s a mad rush to pick up traditional fast-breaking items, like sambousas and ful, and to get home before sunset."
[Article Link]

"road accidents were up 20 percent during Ramadan in 2004. Brig. Saad Al-Ghamdi of the Jeddah Traffic Department told the Arab News last year that accidents peak just before iftar." [Article Link]

Ghost Town

Several times, my family and I have gotten caught in the middle of the city at sunset and it’s the spookiest of sights. Downtown Riyadh is a very busy city with no public transportation, so the streets are almost always packed. But come Iftar time, I'm reminded of scenes from the movie 28 Days – the streets are totally empty.

I'll admit that this is not a Riyadh-specific phenomenon, as Unique Muslimah has cited how Cairo is the same. Nonetheless, having grown up in the US all my life, its such a neat spectacle to witness all the streets emptied with everyone huddled around dinner tables waiting for the call of the Maghrib adhan.

Another interesting scene occurs at the major traffic intersections. Young men are giving out small Iftar boxes consisting of dates, sandwiches, and juice for those who are still on the road at Maghrib time. My kids love it for the mystery of what's in each box while I find it to be very special as people are looking for every possible way to gain the blessings of feeding the fasting person.

Restaurants

Over the years, we've had the opportunity of visiting several restaurants for Iftar. I have very mixed feelings about going out to break our fast in Ramadan.

The positive is that the food is simply amazing. Most restaurants have buffets set up with the most sumptuous of dishes. We went to this one Lebanese place two weeks ago that had an unbelievable variety of food and every single dish was simply mouthwatering.

The negative is that the food is simply amazing. I'm totally crashed after eating at these places. I can barely get out of the restaurant, much less make it for Isha and Tarawih prayers. So in general we try to avoid going out as we end up either losing money (paying for the buffet and eating less than a full plate) or losing our prayers.

Insha'Allah, I'll wrap up this RinR series with one more post focusing on Tarawih prayers in Riyadh.

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Ramadan in Riyadh (RinR) - The Arrival
RinR - The Saudi Schedule Shift
RinR - Iftar Time
RinR - Tarawih prayers