Changing Eid Traditions

Published August 13, 2013 - Muscat Daily

As I flew across three continents on the last day of Ramadan for a much needed month-long holiday with my family, I couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of guilt at not being home in Salalah for Eid al Fitr. It is probably safe to assume that many Omanis feel the same way. More and more families I know of are going away for Eid or simply refusing to partake in endless week-long Eid activities.

 

Eid traditions are very strong in Muslim communities around the world, and Dhofar is no exception. Growing up, the last few days of Ramadan always involved a frenzy of activity in preparation for Eid. My mother and I would bake hundreds of cookies and sweets, stock up on the best Halwa, prepare the house for hundreds of guests, and make a list of all the relatives that we would have to visit.

 

During my childhood, the night of the moon-sighting at the end of Ramadan was a big deal. We would gather around the television after iftar and wait for the Omani moon-sighting committee to tell us whether Eid was the next day or not. If Eid was declared, the announcement would be followed by several hours of intense activity and majlis-preparation. If the moon wasn’t sighted, we would breathe a sigh of relief and look forward to an extra day of fasting and more time to prepare.

 

On the morning of Eid the men of the family would head off to the mosque after dawn for Eid prayers while the females frantically prepared the majlis for the first envoy of guests who were bound to start showing up at eight o’clock in the morning. Traditional Eid songs would be playing on the radio or on television. As a child, Eid meant gifts, new clothes, sweets, and small change that is handed out to children in the form of brand new 100bz notes.

 

The first three days of Eid involved non-stop visiting with relatives and friends. The days that followed were usually a bit easier. Nevertheless, the visiting and catching up with relatives did go on for at least a week. In other words, Eid was a big deal

 

Then came the Internet and cellphones and life in Oman began to change more and more rapidly. Keeping up with Eid traditions and hundreds of relatives became overwhelming and no longer feasible. The number of guests has dwindled as people have become busy with their own lives.

 

For an introvert like me, I still love to spend the days before Eid baking for guests but having to be on guest-duty for at least three days just doesn’t entice me anymore. Furthermore, Eid al Adha is only two months away. I’m ready to make an effort with Eid traditions, but at the moment I think one Eid a year is enough for me. As selfish as it may seem, I’d much rather use my time off to travel and relax. Staying at home without partaking in Eid activities is just not an option in Oman at the moment.

 

Thinking of all the Eid traditions and special memories that helped to shape my childhood in Salalah can make me feel slightly nostalgic but not for long. I’ve accepted the fact that life changes and so do traditions. So, from the back patio of my holiday hideaway I tip my mug of coffee to you and hope you enjoyed your holidays. Back to my pile of vacation reading!

Rainy Ramadan

Six days down and approximately 23 more to go if the moon cooperates! Once again Dhofar has been blessed with cool temperatures and a heavier-than-normal monsoon drizzle to help us get through the holy month of fasting.

To be honest, I am not necessarily looking forward to a couple of years from now when Ramadan will coincide with the hottest most humid time of year in the south. Then again, is this something I want to be worrying about now? Probably not. Fasting this year has been quite easy so far.

I have mastered the art of rolling over in bed at four in the morning to switch on the coffeemaker, pressing the snooze button on the alarm, then dragging myself out of bed a few minutes later to sip my coffee in the dark and eat whatever breakfast concoction I have prepared the night before.

By the time I’ve had my dose of caffeine, I am ready to pray the sunrise prayer then head back to sleep for another three hours.

As bizarre as it may seem, my system works quite well. I usually have plenty of energy until about three o’clock in the afternoon when my mental abilities become limited to studying recipes online.

This usually results in my jotting down a couple of ingredients and convincing myself to head to the supermarket to purchase them. I work my way through the mountains of Vimto, crème caramel and other Ramadan specialties in search of the two ingredients on my list.

Half an hour later I am usually standing in a queue of 15 people with at least ten more ingredients than I had anticipated. Every person standing in line is equally guilty.

Food aside, this Ramadan has been busy with tourists here in Dhofar. It seems that many of our annual visitors from the GCC and other parts of Oman would rather fast in rainy Salalah than in their oven-hot hometowns.

At one point, we assumed the tens of thousands of tourists would flock to Dhofar during Eid. Who were we kidding?

In all cases, we are expecting the majority of tourists in August. In preparation, I have booked my ticket to a faraway country for the duration of August to ensure I miss the tourist chaos.

After last year’s mess, Salalah is the last place I want to be. During Eid last year nearly 100,000 tourists arrived in Salalah causing a week-long shortage of petrol, milk, bread, and even accommodation.

Hundreds of Omani families opened up their homes to stranded tourists who had no place to stay. In fact, four of my direct neighbours rented out their living rooms to tourists from neighbouring countries.

Traffic was insane and it was impossible to get anywhere near the mountains due to backed up traffic. To avoid that crisis again this year, it was announced in January that RO15mn would be allocated to improve tourist facilities and services in Dhofar.

Nothing very visible has come of it so far, but I assume we’ll hear of these improved facilities by August. It’s worth noting that a tent complex is being set up at the base of the mountains that will cater to the envoys of tourists arriving by road from various destinations in Oman and the GCC.

From what I’ve heard, this complex will host car rental agencies, housing services, and other facilities required by tourists. It will be interesting to see how that pans out!

Published July 16, 2013 - Muscat Daily

The Final Week

Published in Muscat Daily on August 14th, 2012. Click here to view the column on their website.

As I write these words, I am sitting on my back steps here in Salalah in my traditional thobe budhail with two cats curled up on either side of me for warmth. We are quietly enjoying the monsoon drizzle and listening to the gentle rustle of the leaves on the fig, henna and frankincense trees. This is beginning to sound like a poem, isn't it? Forgive me, I've been fasting for almost 12 hours and have another three to go. We do tend to get a little delirious towards the end of the day in Ramadan!

To be honest, I find it hard to believe the holy month of Ramadan is coming to an end. Despite the long hours of fasting, time flew. As we wait for the new moon to mark the end of fasting and the beginning of Eid, I find myself thinking about my favourite and not-so-favourite aspects of Ramadan in the 21st century.

I will definitely miss the atmosphere in Salalah during Ramadan. When an entire region is fasting together, it feels like a month-long celebration instead of a hassle. To be honest, I have no idea how Muslims in non-Muslim societies cope.

Thanks to shorter working hours and fewer commitments, I will miss the extra time for reflection and reading. I will miss the thousands of people rushing to make it to the mosque for every prayer and how everyone makes an extra effort to be calm and generous.

I will miss seeing plates of food being carried through the neighbourhood during the hour before sunset on their way to the mosque to feed fasting labourers. I'll miss all the excited children who are fasting for the first time. I will miss peeking out of my window at 4am and seeing all the neighbours' lights come on slowly one by one as they prepare for dawn. The list is long.

On the other hand, I will definitely not miss the Ramadan work ethic among Omani employees. I'm not exaggerating when I say next to nothing gets done in Ramadan. Muslims only work six hours during Ramadan, but most of them might as well not come to work at all. Somehow fasting and productivity don't go well together for many people.

The obsession with food and the long line-ups at supermarkets at all hours of the day and night will not be missed either. Most families spend up to four or five hours in the kitchen each afternoon preparing to break the fast and end up making up to ten different deep-fried dishes, most of which go to waste. This completely contradicts the purpose of fasting in my opinion, but to each his own, I suppose. In my home, my mother and I have dinner down to a 54-minute art. In the hour before sunset, we manage to produce a starter, a healthy main course and occasionally a dessert.

Believe it or not, our meals don't even involve the basic Omani Ramadan staples - oil, samosa wraps, puff pastry, crème caramel and Vimto. Sleeping well at night and fitting in a healthy breakfast before sunrise means I have energy during most of the day, for which I am grateful.

One aspect of Ramadan that drives me crazy is the increasing commercialism. I find I am able to shut myself off most of the time because I never really go into town during Ramadan. Furthermore (brace yourselves), my house is probably the only remaining house in the sultanate without cable television.

I can just about handle the very short episode of the Omani Ramadan cartoon Yom wa Yom in the evenings on Oman TV because I find it hilarious. However, the empty and mindless commercials that come on every five minutes during the episode remind me why I choose never to watch television. Life's too short.

I will not miss all the daily phone messages from car dealerships trying to brainwash me into believing I need a brand new RO25,000 car because I'm delirious, hungry and looking for distractions that don't involve food. What is it with car deals during Ramadan anyway?

I’m sad to see the holy month end because it’s a special time of year; a time of reflection, discipline and spirituality. However, I am also guilty of looking forward to going back to my normal work and study schedule. Trust me, trying to do post-graduate work while fasting is like pulling a tooth. Come next week, I'll be reunited with my sacred morning mug of coffee and I might just be able to catch up on all my studying...Insha Allah!

Ramadhan Kareem!

Published August 2, 2011 - Muscat Daily

On Sunday night, many Omanis settled down in front of Oman TV and waited for the moon-sighting committee’s verdict on whether Monday would mark the first day of the holy month of fasting or not. A little after 8pm, Ramadan was announced and thousands of congratulatory text messages flew back and forth between family members, colleagues and friends.

While astronomers can accurately confirm when the new crescent moon will be visible, Muslims prefer to be guided by a committee of Muslim scholars. The committee predicts when and where the crescent will be sighted, but the holy month of Ramadan only begins once the new moon has been spotted by the naked eye.

In time for Ramadan, the annual Salalah Tourism Festival ended a few days ago with a bang, and the last of the lavish local weddings took place on Thursday. Monsoon rains continue to fall as temperatures hover between 24 and 27°C.

Population-wise, it looks like many of the tourists aren’t going anywhere during Ramadan. According to an article I read recently, thousands of tourists from the GCC have booked their hotels and apartments in Salalah for Ramadan.

I suppose it makes a lot of sense to fast here this year. The days are shorter and unlike the rest of the GCC, the weather in Salalah is beautiful at this time of year.

Meanwhile on the local front, the classic mountains of Ramadan food are on display at all the major supermarkets to accommodate the needs of families who tend to eat exactly the same things year after year. Women spend hours in the kitchen everyday preparing an endless array of dishes to break the fast at sunset, most of which will be tossed out at the end of the night. Believe it or not, many people end up gaining weight during Ramadan, even though they fast for nearly 14 hours every day.

Ramadan is supposed to be a month of religious reflection, self-restraint and charity. However, for many Omanis, the holy month of fasting has become a month of sleeping all day, watching television and eating all night to avoid feeling any discomfort while fasting.

Many smokers I know take annual leave during Ramadan and sleep all day as well, to avoid the effects of nicotine withdrawal. Again, this totally contradicts the true spirit of the month. Sure, we pray, read the Q'uran and go to Taraweeh prayers at the mosque every night, but that doesn’t make up for all the unhealthy habits we maintain and all the time and food we waste.

I visited the Oman Charitable Organisation (OCO) donation camp in Salalah with my sister a couple of nights ago. As most of you know, the UN officially declared a famine in two regions of southern Somalia a little under two weeks ago. This is the first time a famine has been declared by the UN in nearly 30 years.

Tens of thousands of people have died in the past few weeks, and humanitarian response to the crisis has been delayed by severe lack of funding. Of the nearly US$2bn that has been requested by humanitarian organisations, barely US$1bn has been committed.

The aim of the OCO campaign is to help in any way they can by providing food and funding for victims of the famine. The camp set up next to Aqeel Mosque in eastern Salalah – will remain open throughout the month of Ramadan.

They accept dry goods such as rice, noodles and milk powder for babies. Blankets, sheets and clothes that are in good condition are also accepted.

Instead of wasting time and food during Ramadan, get in touch with the organisation’s headquarters in Muscat or their camp in Salalah and see how you can help. Getting involved with something like that would truly bring out the spirit of Ramadan, don’t you think? Ramadan Kareem!

NOTE: Donations for Somalia will be accepted at the tent next to Aqeel Mosque in Eastern Salalah (off Al Montazah Road) throughout the month of Ramadan. For more information call: 

Ahmed 99492845

Mohammed 99492966

Abdullah 99696333
Said 99493100
Musallam 92334207
Mohammed 97187778

Ali 99283030

Iftar on the Peace Boat

Published August 31, 2010

Last week one of my friends called me up at work and shouted excitedly into the receiver 'Do you want to have Iftar on a Japanese ship at Salalah Port?' Not one to turn down such an interesting opportunity, I immediately agreed without asking for any more details. As it turned out, I had been invited as part of a group of young Omanis from Salalah who would be meeting a delegation of Japanese intellectuals on the internationally renowned 'Peace Boat', a cruise ship known for its round-the-world voyages to support global peace and human rights. As a tribute to the Sultanate's reputation as a peaceful nation, Salalah is the only port where the ship made a stop in the Arabian Gulf. It left Japan during early August and will be visiting ports in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Latin America before its return to Japan in October.

On Friday, August 20th, the selected group of Omani representatives (mostly Dhofar University students) congregated at the University, nervously awaiting the arrival of our Japanese guests, and hungry after many hours of fasting. We had several hours to go before breaking the fast at sunset and we stood around worrying that we wouldn't be fully 'compos mentis' during the exchange! Just then, a huge bus pulled up in front of the University gates.

The first thing I noticed is how neatly the Japanese descended from the bus, one by one, each nattily dressed, and each one with a backpack and camera in hand. Many of them were already sporting Omani turbans, caps, and dishdashas, even though they had only been in the port for a short time. They bowed in greeting. Unsure of how to respond we bowed too; then everyone burst out laughing. And that was the beginning of a very intense cultural exchange between Oman and Japan! During the next few hours (and despite the language barriers), we were privileged to meet Hiroshima survivors, listen to them tell us about what had happened on that fateful day and feel the effect of their tragic tales. They then patiently taught us how to make 'origami', or beautiful paper cutouts, and how to wear kimonos (traditional Japanese dress), and we observed Japanese dances and rituals.

It was absolutely fascinating. In exchange, we explained in detail about what Ramadhan means to us, and told them about Omani dress, our culture, Islam, our food, etc. The Omani males in our group taught them some traditional dances and we burnt frankincense for them and taught them some simple Arabic words (while we were all learning as much Japanese as we could at the same time!).
 

After the planned activities, including a tour of the new Dhofar University campus, we all piled into buses and headed for the famous Peace Boat, where we were taken on a tour and shown how it all works. To our surprise, we were informed that there were one thousand Japanese onboard, ranging in age from 3 to 93 years old! The Iftar itself (the breaking of the fast) was even more interesting. Never in my life had I expected to break the fast with chopsticks! We were able to experience several Japanese dishes, including seaweed!
 

Everything about the whole exchange exceeded our expectations. Every minute of our five-hour trip was planned so carefully. Since we Omanis are known for our inability to be punctual, it was charming to see how particular our Japanese friends were about following the exact timetable they had put together for us, weeks before. Truly, it was a wonderful experience, and I'm sure several of my fellow Omani delegates are eager to visit Japan in the very near future. I know I am!

Ramadhan & Food

Published August 17, 2010

There are very few things in my life that I consider to be a living nightmare. Among them are 8-hour transits at Dubai airport, running out of cooking gas just before your guests arrive, and inching through traffic on payday. However, at the very top of my nightmare list is going to any supermarket in Salalah the week before Ramadhan.

Before I start my spiel about supermarkets and food, I'd like to highlight the fact that, in addition to focusing on religion, one of the main purposes of fasting is to teach Muslims about patience, humility, and empathy for those who are less fortunate. We are supposed to 'feel' hunger and count our blessings, thus becoming more charitable and willing to give to the poor.
 

Many Omanis on the other hand seem to be doing the complete opposite. Yes, we survive without food or water from sunrise to sunset, but then too much emphasis is placed on the preparation and consumption of the food with which we break the fast. In fact, most of my acquaintances end up gaining weight in Ramadhan despite the fact that they fast for most of the day!
 

I needed to pick up a couple of urgent food items at one of Salalah's major supermarkets a couple of days before Ramadhan started last week. It was just after three o'clock in the afternoon and I thought I'd be able to run in quickly before the Ramadhan shoppers arrived. No such luck! It took me twenty minutes to find a parking space and then I had to fight my way in through a sea of frantic shoppers at the entrance only to find there were no shopping carts or baskets left. The huge Ramadhan displays at the front of the supermarket would baffle any person unfamiliar with our Ramadhan cuisine. All you see are pyramids of tins of Captain Oats, creme caramel mixes, dumpling mixes, and of course the largest collection of Vimto bottles this person has ever seen.

Everywhere I looked, people were crammed together in the impenetrable aisles with their enormous shopping carts overflowing with the exact same items for their predictable Ramadhan menus. I started feeling slightly claustrophobic. By the time I made it to the front of the store with my sad little collection of items and took one look at the cashier lineups, I had had enough. I dumped my items on the nearest mountain of creme caramel and left. I haven't been into a supermarket since and have been avoiding them at all costs.
 

Why the obsession with food, you may wonder? Most families in Dhofar send their women into the kitchen four or five hours before sunset to start preparing for Iftar, the sunset meal. I'm inclined to say that 90% of households in Dhofar serve the exact same dishes every day for the entire month of Ramadan. The basics are sweet dumplings (luqaymat), greasy samoosas, oat soup, thareed (local dry bread soaked in a meat sauce), Arabic coffee, dates, jugs of Vimto, creme caramel, jello, watermelon, and anything deep-fried. All this food is laid out on a long plastic mat across the family living room or majlis and when the call to prayer is heard, everyone dives into the display of fifteen or more dishes. They spend the next hour or so eating non-stop, only taking a few minutes out to pray the sunset prayer. Imagine what mixing samoosas, spicy soup, meat, sweets, coffee, and watermelon every day can do to your stomach.
 

By the time everyone is finished eating, they've only consumed half of what was on display. What happens to the rest of the food? Many people keep leftovers for the sunrise meal, known as suhoor; however, most of it gets thrown out (to the benefit of stray neighborhood cats). It's a complete waste and completely defies the purpose of fasting. I read a report somewhere saying Arabs spend more money on food during Ramadhan than at any other time of the year. If that's true, then there's something very wrong with our understanding of Ramadhan. Perhaps as people in Oman become more health-conscious (and money conscious), these terrible eating habits will slowly be replaced by more sensible Ramadhan menus.