For Iftar I thought about going to something I saw nearby:
An Iftar tent, one of many set up around the city to provide Iftar meals to people. Every day thousands of people in Qatar have free Iftar meals. Usually it's the Government or charities that sponsor the tents but in some cases it's a company or even a wealthy individual. The Qur’an even states that if an individual cannot fast (because they're sick, elderly, pregnant etc.) then they should feed other people to make up for the fast. Typically the meals in the tents consist of dates, rice, and a bit of meat and vegetables.
When I got there I had second thoughts about going in. Because this tent is clearly sponsored by a charity it is probably meant for the poor, and I'm certainly not that. I decided to go home instead and have a light meal (dates, laban, some bread and some beans).
After eating I got out of the apartment, one of my promises for Ramadan. I know that if I stay in my apartment I'm going to start reaching for snacks so the best thing to do is to get out and maybe get some exercise. Unfortunately because it's the middle of summer the only place one can go to get a good walk without being in 40+ degree heat is a mall. So far this week I've been to all the major malls in Doha, walking laps to get some exercise. It's not ideal but at least it gets me out of the apartment.
I also had a squash game at 10pm with the Qatari friend of mine. It was a good thing we booked a court ahead of time because the Squash Center was fully booked. All eight courts were busy, many of them with children getting lessons. Yep, during Ramadan kids have squash lessons at 10 in the evening! Many were still there when my friend and I left after 11.
Midnight, time for bed.
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1 comment:
Please do go to the tent! My father-in-law was visiting us once and stopped there and they said the food was for everyone.
He ended up taking a pot from our kitchen and bringing it back full of some yummy Arabic dish!
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