Well, our last day of vacation was the first day of Ramadan, a 30 day fast for Muslims. They fast from sun-up to sun-down and it is tough for them. Nothing touches their lips, which includes water (and it's 100 degrees out there). There are some interesting changes in life here because of it:
1. At 7 PM everynight, when the call to prayer goes off, it is like a scene from I Am Legend. The normally busy city traffic is gone and everyone is inside eating. It is very surreal. It is a little dangerous time to be out in certain parts of the city since all the good people are inside, the only people out are thieves/bad people. But we haven't had any trouble.
2. Because people eat so late (midnight or even later is their last meal) everything opens later in the morning, which means our walk to class is alot easier with less people out. Plus, the cafes are all closed in the day so there is room on the sidewalks where tables and chairs would usually be.
3. It is like Walmart two days before Christmas at the grocery store anytime after noon. It is packed, there is nothing left to buy and there is special Ramadan music blaring. I had to elbow an old lady who was trying to cut in line.
We'll try to get some pictures of some empty streets. Gary is down in the desert right now with some of his friends that he has met here so I'm sure he'll have some good stories about breaking the fast with them.
This is a picture of an old Roman aqueduct. Yes, that is Blake on top.
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