This is my first Ramadan in Egypt and such a different experience from the Ramadan in Saudi Arabia. Majority of the Egyptians fast during this holy month- no food or water from sunrise to sunset. However, most of the cafes and restaurants are open during the day for the expatriates and the non Muslims. This is in sharp contrast to Saudi Arabia where eating or drinking in public places during the holy month of Ramadan is a punishable offence. Some of the other gulf countries like Dubai and Bahrain too are fairly strict in their observance of “no eating and drinking in public places” rule. Egypt, with its bustling tourism industry is much more “open” in this regard.
The offices work on curtailed hours like that in the any other Muslim country; and the expat non-muslim management in some companies also observes the fast during the office hours to show solidarity with their Egyptian workforce.
Cairo’s roads are the most unsafe at the best of times and an hour before the Iftar is probably even more dangerous and nerve racking with traffic at its peak coupled with reckless driving as the people are trying to reach their destinations to break their fast. During Iftar and for an hour after that, Cairo roads are blessedly empty and it is the best time to go out and get your grocery shopping done as I discovered a couple of days back when I went to Metro; no crowds at the shop and no long queues at the checkout counters. However, this is not possible in Saudi Arabia as all establishments close before Iftar and open only after the Iftar and the Maghrib prayers
Of course, the one thing that is universally common during Ramadan, whether it be Saudi Arabia, the gulf countries or Egypt is the difficulty to get any work done- whether at office or at home. For example, my landlady had been trying to get hold of a plumber to take care of a leaking toilet in our house and she told us how difficult it is to get anyone to come out and work during Ramadan. And when she finally managed to send over a plumber, he has done a stop-gap kind of repair that will tide us through the remaining days of Ramadan with a promise to come and complete the remaining work- but only after the end of Ramadan and EID.
There is a lot more that needs to be taken care of in our house but even we have now adopted the refrain-“After EID”!
