The Holy Ramadan

20 Jul 2012 - 18 Aug 2012

The Holy Ramadan is the 10th month in the Islamic calendar. It is determined according to the Lunar cycle. Muslims are not allowed to eat, drink or smoke from dawn, the Al-Fagr prayer, until the sunset and the Al-Maghreb prayer.

All Muslims and especially Egyptians will do their best to approach Allah (God) by all means, starting from reciting the Quran, attending all prayers at the mosques and keeping their tongues from the unnecessary talking ,as they consider the month to be one of piousness.

All families will gather at the Iftaar time, the sunset, to enjoy eating together and as a kind of celebration. The kids will get new lanterns to play with especially at night time. During this month, crimes will be reducedand all people will be willing to do more than their best to please and help the needy people. One practice is to specially distribute Alms and Zakat Elfitr, which is to be given to the poor before the sunset of the last day of Ramadan.

Egyptians, especially in Cairo, are accustomed to having some kind of special menu for Ramadan time in which they increase their food consumption, especially for sweat drinks, and traditional desserts. In Ramadan, many invitations between families and friends are given to join together for the Iftaar time. In Ramadan many Egyptians perform Umrah, a smaller Hajj, in the last 10 days of Ramadan