Ramadan: Joining an Iftar

Through much of the month of July, we are surrounded by the observance of Ramadan. In the KSA fasting restrictions are strictly enforced, which means no eating or drinking between dawn and dusk, even for non-muslims. Thankfully this excludes young children, so when Benjamin was fussing around the grocery store for a cracker, I was able to oblige him (though I felt bad for all the hungry people watching). This is the time that Muslims commemorate the revelation of the Koran to Muhammad. It is a time of heightened devotion and reflection. Many shops and business have shortened hours and no restaurants are open before the final prayers of the day.

While we recognized that this would be the case in Saudi, we neglected to consider the implications of this for our trip to Bahrain. We assumed the freedom to eat during the day would be greater, and it was; however, we had a heck of a time finding places to eat during the day. Thankfully, our western style hotel restaurant was open 24 hours a day. Our first evening we joined an iftar (breaking of the fast dinner) in a tent along the beach. As you can imagine this was quite a spread - I wish I could have taken a picture. I did pass on the pot with the sheep skull in it (Jeff said it was tasty!), but the rest was wonderfully delicious - roasted meats, dozens of salads and spreads, fresh fruit and pastries.

The iftar meal begins with dates, which are a local point of pride. Dates have been farmed in Arabia since ancient times. There are more varieties than I can count, in colors ranging from brown to red to yellow to orange. The dates are ripe from June - August depending on the variety. When they are ready to be cut, a strong farmer climbs the trunk with a knife in hand and chops down a large clump. No easy task in the hottest months of the year! There is a date souk (market) in Riyadh that I have yet to explore. The dates in the photograph below were brilliantly orange. Trees can be seen all over the city now heavily laden with fruit.

This is what much of the drive to Bahrain looks like.

Qal'at al Bahrain

Last weekend we broke away from Riyadh for a fun time in beautiful Bahrain. Our favorite part of the trip was a visit to a 16th century Portuguese fort (Qal'at al-Bahrain). Actually, the fort is layered on centuries of civilizations, starting as the capital of a Dilmun civilization, (mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh). Archeologists love it because it is a classic example of a tell, a mound showing layers of development over time. Archeologists have identified at least seven civilizations including Sumerian, Greek, Portuguese, and Arabic. 

The fort shows three distinct phases of development. The last and most apparent developments were added in the 16th century to protect the Portuguese from possible future attacks from the Ottoman Turks. The Turks attacked just before the additions were made and were forced back across the land.

The fort was originally developed to protect settlers from attacks from the sea. However, over time the bay became too shallow for large vessels to enter so additions were added to protect from land attacks. The fort includes rooms for canons, a large courtyard, a moat (never filled with water), and a couple of madbasa (rooms for the development of date syrup).

Most fascinating for the kids and me was the strategic trading location of the fort, as we have just begun reading stories of the Age of Exploration starting in the 15th century. Dates and pearls would have been important goods from the region. 

The Persian Gulf is gorgeous. I don't know if you can see how many shades of blue are present in the photographs, but I counted at least five. 

The day was incredibly hot. While we are currently in Ramadan, there are not the strict rules in Bahrain that there are in Saudi. We were able to drink and douse ourselves with water along the way.