On Aug 22, 9:10*pm, "Bob Terwilliger" >
wrote:
> Goomba wrote:
> > I'd like to learn more about what special dishes they feast on?
>
> The dishes served vary depending on exactly where you live. When I lived in
> Kuwait and visited Kuwaiti friends, the patriarch of the family always made
> a big production out of carrying out a large bowl of rice pilaf and dumping
> it onto a communal platter right at the end of the sunset prayer call. There
> would be some kind of meat stew, yogurt cheese with olive oil, olives,
> dates, and tea. Vegetables (from Jordan) were served as side dishes, and
> pastries were served after dinner. Snacks (shwarmas, meat pies, flatbread
> with olive oil and dukkah, etc.) were eaten throughout the night.
>
> A few notes about Arab etiquette: It's considered rude to show the soles of
> your feet, so people sat tailor-fashion on pillows on the floor. Most eating
> was done by hand -- always the RIGHT hand, because the left hand is
> considered unclean. (This rule appears to waver a bit nowadays: When Tony
> Bourdain visited Saudi Arabia, there was footage of him eating with a Saudi
> family, and the people there used both hands for eating. But if in doubt,
> it's best to only use the right hand.) Thin soups were sipped out of bowls;
> thick soups were either sopped up with the rice or eaten with spoons. (There
> *were* utensils, it's just that they didn't see much use.)
>
> > What the rules are for those who can't fast, etc.
>
> People who can't fast for medical reasons are exempt from fasting. The
> markets sell what amount to silver-dollar pita rounds so that they can
> minimize the negative aspect of breaking the fast.
>
> Observing the fast is considered *important*, so exemptions are not granted
> all that readily. In Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the fast becomes LAW during
> Ramadan, and offenders can be prosecuted for the criminal offense of
> illegally breaking the fast, unless they have an exemption. (One of my
> coworkers was stopped and ticketed for smoking in his car during daylight
> hours.) It's likely that the Ramadan-fast legal requirement exists in other
> Muslim countries too, but I don't know that first-hand.
>
> Ramadan is also the month where women are especially observant about
> wearing the burqa, even in countries which are much more liberal at other
> times of the year.

Not in the communities of non middle eastern countries. Beside, burqa
os worn only by a very selective group of people. The norm usually is
hijab.

>
> Bob