Breaking Bread at the Most Iconic Iftar of Them All

We were happily invited to attend iftar at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, a free offering to anyone who shows up. The mosque estimates that anywhere from 10,000-15,000 people are served nightly, from all walks of life. Our group arrived right as the sun had set, so the men were led to an outside area…

Iftar: It’s What’s For Dinner

Ramadan is most prominently marked by the fasting that occurs from sunrise to sunset. Those who are fasting – and even those who aren’t – are able by law to leave the workplace two hours earlier to rest and prepare for the evening. At dusk, people leave their homes to join friends and family at…

Fasting at 2,700 feet

Knowing when the sun rises and sets is extremely important during Ramadan. At sunrise, your fast begins and at sunset, your fast ends. Sounds pretty straight forward. But what happens if your line of sight was such that you saw the setting sun a little bit longer than the rest of us? Sound impossible? Well…

No Soup (or Sandwiches or…) For You!

With fasting from sunrise to sunset the most prominent observance during Ramadan, the holy month affects us all – even the non-fasters. At work, there are special, blocked off areas for lunch, tea, coffee, water and even chewing gum. Personally, I have to stand in a tiny kitchen for lunch, which is a very small…

Ramadan Kareem!

Today marks the start of Ramadan – the Islamic religious observance, marked most prominently by a month of fasting. I’ll be honest – up to this point in my life, the only thing I really knew about Ramadan was that it was practiced by Muslims. Sad, I know. However, there is good news – my…