The Bapco Building B Ramadan Survivors of 2020
Each year I prepare a Ramadan Blog, partly for those experiencing their first Ramadan in Bahrain, partly from those who are not followers of Islam and do not know what it involves, and partly to share my experience of 11 years here in the Middle east . ( Vince - check my Math there, does three partlies make a whole) ( Keith- check the English please!)
The fist big difference this year is of course we are in the middle ( yes guys, get real, the middle, not the end) of a Pandemic. Normally Ramadan is a time when us teachers ( and retired teachers) make a sharp exit from Bahrain as the temperatures rise and the restaurants close from sunrise to sunset and we have no classes. However this year we are all stuck in Bahrain ( even those who should be on the beach in the Philippines but have been blessed with a few extra months transitioning from working to retired life!)
Ramadan Decorations at the Clocktower in Riffa
I remember when I arrived here in 2010 knowing little about Ramadan so I used it as a topic on my Presentation Skills Programmes to get my Arabic delegates to tell me as an expat, experiencing my first Ramadan, what I should look out for.
So lets start with the Wikipedia definition of Ramadan so we are all at the same place:
"Ramadan, also spelled Ramazan, Ramzan, Ramadhan or Ramathan, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan
My apologies to my Indian friend Carl who I told off for calling it Ramzan- I learnt something new!
Second, when is it this year?
According to Wikipedia
"Ramadan 2021 in Bahrain will begin in the evening of Monday , April 12 and ends in the evening of Wednesday, May 12" .
"Ramadan 2021 in Bahrain will begin in the evening of Monday , April 12 and ends in the evening of Wednesday, May 12" .
(Dates may vary as the start of Ramadan is set by the moon siting committee based in Saudi Arabia). Ramadan lasts twenty-nine to thirty days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan
Third- who has to fast from Sunrise to Sunset in Ramadan?
"Fasting from sunrise to sunset is fard (obligatory) for all adult Muslims who are not acutely or chronically ill, travelling, elderly, breastfeeding, diabetic, or menstruating. The predawn meal is referred to as suhur, and the nightly feast that breaks the fast is called iftar. Although fatwas have been issued declaring that Muslims who live in regions with a midnight sun or polar night should follow the timetable of Mecca, it is common practice to follow the timetable of the closest country in which night can be distinguished from day.
The spiritual rewards (thawab) of fasting are believed to be multiplied during Ramadan. Accordingly, Muslims refrain not only from food and drink, but also tobacco products, sexual relations, and sinful behavior, devoting themselves instead to salat (prayer) and recitation of the Quran.
What is Ramadan?
"Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm), prayer, reflection and community. A commemoration of Muhammad's first revelation, the annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam"
As usual when I research and write such blogs its a fine line between quoting from sources such as Wikipedia for factual accuracy, and sharing my own experiences! I can hear Mr. Gregory telling me off already for too much quoting and all my former ILM delegates moaning that I marked them down for not using their own words, so I should lead by example!
So here is my explanation to some old friends back in the UK who wanted to know if those who do not follow Islam have to fast if they are living in a Muslim Majority country like Bahrain:
The GCC is mostly very diverse and tolerant of all religions. I always describe it as a sliding scale between closed ( Saudi, Kuwait) and open ( Dubai and Bahrain) . So there are no churches in Saudi and Kuwait- only Mosques, where Bahrain has 2 Catholic Cathedrals and a Hindi temple. Non Muslims can visit the Grand Mosque and they have open days ( fascinating) and the shops all have Easter eggs and Christmas gifts. Some families celebrate the religious events of all countries like
Easter, Christmas and Diwali, whereas others just follow the Islamic events.
Ramadan is the big event ( month) that everyone has to observe in public with fines for offenders who eat in public or even sip water. The exceptions are for kids and pregnant women ( and a few others I forget) and if you are travelling you can eat but you have to fast on another day to make up. So most followers of Islam get up to pray at 430 am and then eat a big breakfast ( Suhur) before the sun rises then go to work at 6 am until 1 pm. ( Depending on whether they work inn the public or private sector) . Then they go home to sleep and get up and shower and exercise around 4 or 5 pm.
The cannons are fired as the sun sets near Riffa Fort and at The Avenues
Then as the sun sets (around 6 pm here ) a series of Cannons go off across Bahrain signaling the sunset followed by the call to prayer. They pray and then eat- first dates ( sugar) and like a Ribena juice, then a light meal called Iftar. That ends around 7 pm and then the Gabca is a heavier meal ( buffet) starting from 8 pm to 2 am.
An excited young lady watches the Gregaroun celebrations
The first week of Ramadan is a family time. The week before Ramadan it's like Christmas shopping in the UK as people buy large screen Televisions, huge pots and pans, and tons of rice and dates and all kinds of special Arabic treats ( not very healthy). Some big families buy whole goats and lambs from farms and slaughterhouses and amazingly the ladies ( and in the bigger families the cooks) spend all day cooking huge feasts. The hotels also do Iftar and Gabca buffets and many companies hold an annual Gabca for all their staff in the second week of Ramadan.
A typical Iftar Buffet- lanterns and moons can be seen everywhere
Everyone buys new dresses ( well the ladies) . My houseboy Corleen is a dress designer and his bosses shop has been wiped out already . We are talking designer gowns from 500 to 5000 bd each ( double that for GBP).
I am dressing up this Ramadan with some special designer masks made for me by Corleen ( 5 bd or 10 gbp each). We all need to be very careful this Ramadan with large numbers of people coming together to wear our masks, socially distance and wash our hands.
Ramadan is a time of generosity and giving and each family tries to outdo the other with gifts etc. The good news is the Mosques do Ramadan Iftar for the poor ( including the expat labourers who earn 200 pounds a month working 7 days a week 12 hrs. a day) with maybe 200- 1000 people fed outside each mosque each night. See this amazing Vlog from my friend Khalid in the UAE where at the Grand Mosque they cook Iftar for 30,000 people every night in Ramadan
Everywhere is beautifully decorated during Ramadan with Moons and lanterns
Here in Bahrain they also have a festival for the kids to mark the halfway point called Gregaroun where all the kids dress up and go house to house collecting sweets ( a bit like Halloween without the trick). Our City Centre Mall has entertainment and gives out sweets and prizes to the kids. I love going and its hilarious to see cute 5 yr old boys and girls in National Dress carrying home bags of sweets bigger than them!
As for expats at work ( for example at Bapco the canteen is open as of 3000 workers maybe 1000 are non Muslim) meals are still served daily. In hotels there is room service ( one year in Bangladesh they closed the ground floor restaurant but kept the 5th floor one open) . Once in Oman as I was the only guest they served me breakfast by the pool but I had to make my own lunch ( they showed me a "corner shop " behind the hotel). Then I walked along the beach for the Iftar at the Crown Plaza. It means for the hospitality staff that they sleep all day then work from 5pm to 2 am in most cases. Some big operations like Shake Shack provide food from sunset to sunrise through Talabat ( a big food delivery service here)
A young boys watches the Gregaroun celebrations back in 2015
At Bapco each year we create a Ramadan free zone ( RFZ) which last year was in my classroom as there are no classes in Ramadan. We all ate there and shared treats and cakes and stuff- all very social. With the followers of Islam finishing at 1 pm not much work got done by the expats ( finish at 3 ) after that! The other great thing is the roads are clear when we finish at 3! But don't get in their way when they are going home to pray and break the fast after starving all day!!
There are also a few restaurants that look after the expats during the Holy month and whilst I cannot name names I found this photo in my Ramadan album from 2014- amazing that only one of the guests at the table is still working at Bapco- 6 years on!
The former Executive Management of Bapco ( and the former Executive storekeeper at Reef Island) enjoy a lunch during Ramadan at a secret location
Whilst my regular readers know I am not a big fan of the 5 star hotels as they are grossly overpriced and the scene of drunken debauchery on their Friday brunches ( typically 35 bd or 70 GBP per person for all you can eat and drink and extra if you want sparkling water or Port!) Ramadan is one time when I do visit for their special Iftar and Gabca events.
Corleen, The British Kabayan, Miss Andrea, Joshua and Coco at the Sofitel Iftar back in 2018 ( thanks Coco for finding the picture I lost!)
Back in 2018 Coco, Corleen, Miss Andrea , Joshua and I headed to the Sofitel for an amazing Iftar when the Executive Chef took us all around the food stations and explained the importance of Live cooking to provide a show to entertain and involve the guests. We had an amazing meal in the huge tent and chatted to the many Chefs working from the different restaurants at the hotel. In 2020 Cov19 Had just started before Ramadan and so the big hotels had to cancel all their Ramadan celebrations at the last minute. I remember talking to their Food and Beverage Manager , Sunuj Dean, and he was saying they normally served 2000 meals a night in Ramadan in their tent , which had already been built when the Virus hit, causing a huge loss of revenue. By the end of the month they were delivering Iftar dinners to guest homes.
The link shows some of the hotels offering Iftar delivery last year:
From beautiful sunsets, Majlis seating and live entertainment be ready to immerse yourself during this Holy month.
𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲
Iftar: 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝗱 – 𝗕𝗗 𝟮𝟱 𝗻𝗲𝘁 ‘𝗕𝘂𝘆 𝟭 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝟭’ 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝟯𝟬% 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮*| Timing: Sunset to 8:30pm…
This year the Al Areen Resort and Spa is already advertising Private dining in the Villas and pictures of small tables set up in their grounds, and in a future Blog I will update you on how we celebrated this year.
I hope my blog helped paint a clearer picture of what Ramadan is like in the Middle East, the options for dining out and how it will be different again as we enter the second Ramadan in the COV 19 era This is the new normal and we have to live with it. As Vince keeps reminding me it is a time of great risk with so many people trying to eat out in a short time period, so please take extra care and let us hope the hotels and restaurants put the safety of their staff and guests ahead of making money.
Above all the advice of my delegates was always to get out and participate in Ramadan by attending events and going to the Iftar and Gabca buffets, and see the cannon being fired etc. As I have been blessed with one final Ramadan in Bahrain while I wait to my visa for the Philippines, and as I no longer have to go to work the next day you can be sure I will be making the most of my final Ramadan in Bahrain!
If you want to find out more about Ramadan please check this website:
So all that remains is for me to wish you and your families...
As usual special thanks to Chester for the new "The British Kabayan" Ramadan artwork and for reformatting the blog and creating the trailer on The British Kabayan Facebook page
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Very interesting Neil 😊
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