Ramadan is the name of the 9th month in the islamic lunar calendar - it is during this time that all muslims fast for the entire month. They concentrate on their faith and spend less time on the concerns of their everyday lives - this includes work and school.
They are not allowed to eat or drink during the daylight hours - sex and smoking are also forbidden during fasting. At the end of the day the fast is broken with prayer and a meal called 'iftar'. In the evening after iftar it is customary for Muslims to go out visiting family and friends. The fast then resumes at sunrise.
What does this mean for us??? We are not allowed to be seen in public eating or drinking or even chewing gum. All the cafes and restaurants are all closed - unless they have a special license to stay open. If they stay open they have to have all the windows covered up so you cannot be seen. But I have been told that there will be no cafes open until sunset.
We have been told to stay off the roads until Iftar begins as the locals are in a hurry to get home for this meal. The local hotels all have big marquees set up to host Iftar - so we are looking forward to experiencing this - the culture and arabic food.
No-one is allowed to work for more than 6 hrs a day - this is Qatari law.
We also have to dress a little more conservatively and probably no holding hands in public - mind you we are pretty good at not doing this now - the risk of someone in a position of authority being offended is too great.
So thats Ramadan in a nutshell.
