This post attempts to give a bit of background into the occassion and during the next month I’ll post updates on how this effects day to day life here in Dubai as I dig a bit deeper from a non muslim perspective and share my findings with the coffee community.

If you are considering withdrawing from bean juice for a while or even starting a fast now could be the perfect time to start. More than one billion Muslims mark the start of Ramadan today – their holiest month of the year, devoted to prayer, fasting and charity. After seven years in Dubai I admit I’ve never taken the time to try and understand what Ramadan (the name of the ninth month of the islamic calender) is all about.

Dubai Outlet Mall has undergone a transformation with Ramadan themed decorations, a special promotion, bargains and longer trading hours to greet customers during the 30 days of festivities. The mall is lit up with Ramadan moons and stars and you can relax in a Majlis-style tent and have a henna design with live traditional Arabic music of the oud, canon and violin in the background. he trading hours have been extended from 10am to 12 Midnight, 7 days per week during Ramadan.

But for a small minority, it is also regarded as an auspicious time to escalate violence in the name of jihad. As a result, experts expect a surge in terrorism attacks during Ramadan, when most Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset in a spiritual exercise that teaches discipline, self-restraint and generosity.

“The month of Ramadan has a special status as the month of religious spirituality and devotion. However, in Muslim tradition it is also perceived as a month of jihad, a month in which Allah grants military victories to his believers,” says a report by the Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute.

Let’s hope this observation is a media driven fad. Dubai is undeniably adopting western customs but can it transform into an impeccable blend of religion and modern culture from today onwards? Visiting Dubai in Ramadan will be a different experience altogether for the holidaying westerner with essentials such as water and food at all beaches, parks and public places banned. As the sunsets night clubs closed and live music/ concerts banned as Dubai life becomes vibrant inside Majlis and Jaimas (Arabic tents) that are set up all across Dubai.

Tents are well decorated with Persian carpets, stylishly placed cushions and offer exquisite cuisines and beverages that actually reflects true Arabian culture. Even after opening of the fast people stay there very late to socialise, enjoy food, smoke shisha and play games.

Fasting during Ramadan is an obligatory duty for all healthy adult Muslims. Ramadan, a lunar month, can last for 29 or 30 days, and its timing changes with respect to seasons. Depending on the geographical location and season, the duration of the daily fast may range from a few to 20 hours. Muslims who fast during Ramadan must abstain from eating, drinking, taking oral medications, and smoking from before dawn until after sunset; there are no restrictions on food or fluid intake between sunset and dawn.

This can mean that some fast all day only to feast at night? With reduced working hours and fasting in the day could this be a time to eat more, rather than less? I do wonder and intend to find out…..

Ramadan Mubarak” and “Ramadan Kareem” are congratulatory greetings used when the first day of Ramadan is announced (kareem means generous and mubarak means blessings). Suhoor is the meal in the morning just before sunrise – it is usually a light meal. Iftar is the time of the evening meal just after sunset, traditionally a light snack of dates and water, although this might no be so obvious in Dubai. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims have the following obligations

• No eating, drinking, smoking or sex between sunrise (fajr) and sunset (maghrib, rather than magrib).
• Curb undesirable emotions such as anger, greed, envy, lust, and refrain from gossip.
• Keep thoughts and actions pure and use the time of fasting for spiritual contemplation.
• Be charitable and help those in need.
• Visit friends and family members.

Children (cut-off point is about 12 years old), the elderly, the insane, travellers, pregnant or nursing women, sick people, and those who are fighting in battle are not expected to fast. Instead they should feed one poor person each day during Ramadan, or, in the case of temporary conditions, make up the days by fasting at a later date. Women should not fast during menstruation but make up those days after Ramadan.

My experience of Ramadan in Dubai is to respect it and as it’s 40-45 degree C here at the moment I can’t drink water or eat in public in daylight and risk facing a jail sentance if I’m caught. Urban legend has it that you end up in jail for the remainder of the month of Ramadan if caught, however it is more likely that you’ll get a lecture from the police and possibly a fine. The law says a fine up to 2000 / 2500 dhs or up to 1 or 2 month jail sentence as far as we know.

For example, in September 2008, a Lebanese male resident and Russian female visitor were drinking juice in an EPPCO petrol station in Dubai before Iftar, and fined 1000 dhs each according to an article in the Gulf News. Apparently a witness saw them and reported them to the police, who shipped the couple off to court.

It seems a surprisingly harsh outcome, unless there is more to the story than was reported!

Me & Ramadan

I have decided to abstain from alcohol for 4 weeks (after a 7 week break recently) and hit the gym hard and limit my time online to one hour per day. My working hours will be as normal as will my eating & drinking habits albeit discretely behind doors & under my desk.

Comments and questions on Ramadan are welcomed here – I’ll attempt to answer them and sincerely hope this is a peaceful time – whatver your belief! Cheers.

At your shower, we wanted to be
So sad that we couldn’t be
Pain, coughing and sleep is me.

But, tell me?
Will green eggs and ham be what you eat?
Will it be on Mulberry Street?

Dr. Seuss for you we wanted to bring,
But, figured that many others would too
Then, there would be a litter of cats in hats
And more than one or two fish
Snagles of sneetches, herds of Hortons,
foxes with socks, and could be a Lorax or two, of course

From Dr. Seuss baby will learn
Oh the things that you can do are good for you
And, she will learn about eyes, feet, teeth, ABCs, and sleep!
And, about Wockets in Pockets and the Grinch
Oh, about Yertle the Turtle and Hunches in Bunches
Oh, and how to run a zoo.

Then, again everyone might just Hop on Pop
And, we would all have a good time.
Who knows they all might stay!
But, a gift certificate is coming your way.

What children’s author or book would you have given?

In his 41st year aboard Earth, Ethical Eater resides in Chester, England with his partner and is father to a 10yr old girl. Currently studying for a BSc honours degree in Nutrition & Dietetics at Uni of Chester, EE was born and bred in Heswall, Wirral.

He has previously been trained and employed in the catering/food industry, before moving into the travel industry where extensive travel ensued. 

Ethical Eater  was drawn to the community by its positivity, spirit and openess to hearty/comical debate and will be posting regular articles on health, food and inspiration as we GO! from strength to strength.

So, welcome to the community Ethical Eater -your comments & questions are welcomed as he prepares his first post!

Been busy, busy so been a while since I posted …

Those of you who know Jimmy, virtually here or in the real world (I’ll leave the implications of the blurring boundary between online & offline reality to someone with more time & less fun in their lives to sort that philosophical hot potato out), will know that he burns enough incense to make the environmental effects of slash & burn cocaine farming in the Amazon basin look like small change. Not my thing, but each to their own, & least it covers some of his more, er,  manly smells.

I always thought its soothing powers were just more smoke & mirrors from the enlightened elements in society, if anything just got up my nose & made me more upset than any supposed stress-relief. Well turns out that it isn’t simply some hokum to extract yet more money from the monied gullible (you’ll never see a poor incense dealer – always the ones tootling around in their Porsches, etc.).

In a recent scientific paper published in the FASEB Journal an active component of incense, incensole acetate, was shown to have anxiolytic (reducing anxiousness) & anti-depressant-like activity in mice. The usual caveats of animal models & their use for human conditions still apply, particularly in higher cognitive processes such as emotions (anxiety, depression), but intriguing ideas about the potential pharmacological effects of incense nonetheless & quoting the paper authors:

‘ Furthermore, the biochemical and pharmacological effects of IA [incensole acetate] may provide a biological basis for deeply rooted cultural and religious traditions ‘

So, maybe with all my busy-busying I should chillax with some pyschoactive incense? Maybe.

Reacting to the Tunisian woman‘s pregnancy, the Medical Director of St. Ives Hospital, Ikeja Lagos, Dr. Tunde Okewale and a consultant gynaecologist, Dr. Femi Oloyede, said that it was fraught with dangers.

Okewale said, ”Such a pregancy can only be possible with assisted reproduction. Many foetuses must have developed. In assisted reproduction, it is unethical for any doctor to permit such multiple pregnancies.”

According to him, the woman can give birth to the babies prematurely and the pregnancy will be stressful to the mother. To ensure the survival of the babies, he said that there must be a well-equipped intensive care unit  -1 unit for each baby.  Also, Oloyode stated that such pregnancy could not be achieved through natural conception. ‘It is fraught with many problems. There will be complications for the mother and the babies,’ he said.

Her husband, named only as Marwan, said, ”In the beginning, we thought that my wife would give birth to twins, but more foetuses were discovered. Our joy was increased with the growing number. The medical team told us that my wife would give birth naturally.”

A woman had in January given birth to eight children in Carlifonia in the United States. The single mother of six defied doctors‘ predictions when she gave birth to eight healthy babies.

At the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State, a woman, Ajoke Bello, was delivered of six children in February this year. The woman died a day after the delivery, while only three of the babies survived.

So – should the risky birth of 12 children be permitted or should authorities intervene? Comments welcomed and baby showers are optional.

Ever had that nagging doubt you might be a fish out of water and tried something that really wasn’t for you? Well, not so sprinter Savannah Sanitoa, who yesterday stunned spectators by competing in a World Championship 100m heat in Berlin.

On the same track as Usain Bolt, the world’s quickest man, later won the men’s 100m in an incredible 9.58secs, the hefty American Samoan blistered home in 14.23secs. And it’s not even her main event. Although it was a season’s best, she finished a full three seconds off the pace – but still romped home (then maybe chomped home?) ahead of competitors from Afghanistan and the Pacific island state of Kiribati.

‘It’s a personal best just for me to be here at the worlds,’ said a gasping Sanitoa after the race. ‘We have little competitions back home but to be here amongst the best in the world is pretty exciting.’

The 90kg (14st) runner usually throws the shot putt but failed to make the qualifying distance for this year’s Berlin event. Instead, the 22-year-old was offered a last minute wildcard into the 100m sprint and made a 22-hour flight from American Samoa to compete. Her personal best in the event is 14.06secs – far too much for Kiribati’s Tioiti Katutu, who finished the heats with the slowest time of 14.38secs.

But it seems Sanitoa has already figured out she isn’t a born sprinter – she is about to join the US army and I for one wouldn’t want to get in her way.

Comments welcomed here, why not ‘put’ it another way? Cheers.

1) Triangular sandwiches taste better than square ones.
2) You’re never quite sure whether it’s against the law or not to have a fire in your back garden.
3) Nobody ever dares make cup-a-soup in a bowl.
4) Rummaging in an overgrown garden will always turn up a bouncy ball.
5) The smaller the monkey the more it looks like it would kill you at the
first given opportunity.
6) Its impossible to look cool whilst picking up a Frisbee.
7) Driving through a tunnel makes you feel excited.
8 )You never ever run out of salt.
9) Old ladies can eat more than you think.
10) There’s no panic like the panic you momentarily feel when you’ve got your hand or head stuck in something.
11) No one knows the origins of their metal coat hangers.
12) People who don’t drive slam car doors too hard

Click here to view the embedded video.

Any others you can think of?

We all need to receive and expresss validation and affirmations.  It does help everyone to feel good and  SMILE!!! 

Please take the time to watch this video that was brought to my attention by John of Storied Mind.  Go take a look about his poignant, thought provoking, and from the heart blog about depression.  Please watch the whole video even though the beginning is a bit long…the ending is worth the wait.

“Validation” is a fable about the magic of free parking. Starring TJ Thyne & Vicki Davis. Writer/Director/Composer – Kurt Kuenne

While I was in the hospital, it was pointed out that I can go days, weeks or even months without smiling.  When was the last time you smiled?

How do you feel when you receive a validation, affirmation or compliment from someone?

How do you feel when you express the same to someone else?

This chap must have had a bit of coffee before this world record attempt:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Listening to that reminds me of a very fast chase sequence in some film.

Pluck up the courage and post your comments here. Cheers!

Without him there would be no Pink Floyd, no Guns n Roses, no ZZ top, no Joe Satriani, no Clapton, no U2, no Beatles, I think you get the picture of how big an influence he was/is within the music industry. Type in his name in Google and  more often than not pictures of guitars will appear rather than himself.

I’d encourage everyone to have a gander at Les Paul’s truly remarkable life here.

So, when were you introduced to your first bit of rock n roll? You haven’t? Well, there’s not much point in reading this post really, as I am asking everyone for their favourite guitar solo clips, rock n roll clips and any music memories that changed your life.

Plectrums at the ready…..