the river moves on

Magical Collision - Part Two

And this brings me to my Ramadan experience.

Suhoor is the last meal of the night before the fast begins again until sundown the next day. Generally people wake up at 4 am before the morning prayer or stay up with friends talking, smoking sheesha and enjoying the festivities of Ramadan before returning to a state of abstention as the sun rises.

I went for suhoor at 1 am with friends to this place called El Gesh, which in Arabic means, the little donkey. Beautiful paintings that look as though a five year old decided to draw lots of dancing donkeys adorned the baby blue walls of the restaurant. During Ramadan the place overflows and there are tables all over the street, with people standing like hawks above your table to snatch it up the moment that you have finished your delicious fuul beans, eggplant and yogurt.


We brought along a large crate of little yogurts, which everyone's mother tells them quenches your thirst during your fast if it is the last thing you eat before beginning to fast again. We followed along and squeezed the yogurt out like a jello shot, sans spoons.

Plans for sheesha and juice were quickly upbraided by slumber and I fell asleep after an amazing night that started with the celebration of the year 2000 and ended with the beginning of Ramadan.

posted by Annika @ 3:13 PM