Ramadan Sohour at the Ritz

During the holy month of Ramadan, devout Muslims fast from morning prayers (an hour before sunrise) to sunset. Fasting goes beyond no food or drink: during daylight hours, Muslims are forbidden from smoking, chewing gum, thinking mean or sexual thoughts, lying, and pretty much every other "bad" thing you could think of. (Since Qatar is governed by Islamic law, this also means that it is illegal for non-Muslims to eat, drink, smoke etc in public during Ramadan--this includes in the car, which is considered public and not private space here). The goal of fasting during Ramadan is to get closer to God (Allah is "God" in Arabic).

At sunset, Muslims break their fast in a small meal called Iftar, normally by eating a few dates to get the blood sugar up. Then after prayers, there are evening feasts with friends and family that last into the wee hours of the morning. This mealtime is called Sohour.





Georgetown's Human Resources Department hosted the whole GU family at the Ritz Carlton's Ramadan Sohour this past Thursday night. It was fantastic! The first pic is Jake, Omar, and Jonathan (our HR Director). All three of them are stuffed and happy from the absolutely humongous buffet dinner. It was a spectacle in itself...

Second, it's a bit dark, but it's a whirling dervish! Dervishes are dancers who spin around and around. This act is a highly mystical and religious one, based in Sufi Islam. The dancing became popular during the Ottoman Empire. Spinning is thought to get the dancer closer to God.

And the third pic is me with a falcon. Trained falcons cost upwards of $35,000! They are a mark of riches and royalty in this part of the world.