Ramadan Running and Reflections

Ramadan Kareem from Morocco! One week into my first "full on" Ramadan experience, I am slowly learning about the celebration, and how it impacts everyday life in Morocco. All year we have been anticipating the Ramadan "slowdown" - when businesses close or shorten their hours, people rest during the day while they are fasting and celebrate with the nightly ftour (breakfast) at sundown. In a nutshell, Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic Calendar, and it is designated as a month of fasting from dawn until dusk for all Muslims. It's also a month dedicated to prayer and charitable giving. 

So, what does Ramadan mean for us? It means remembering not to eat and drink in public. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but I didn't realize how often I ate on the go, until I had to force myself to stop. Additionally, with the temperatures close to 100 degrees most days, going from one place to another without a water bottle is challenging. Many restaurants are closed until after sunset or have closed for the entire month, so it means more grocery shopping and eating at home. Ramadan also meant that we got to host an American-style iftar (or ftour) celebration with Muslim friends to say goodbye to Brianna and Nolan before they headed home to Vermont.

While, traditionally, Moroccans will break the fast with dates, juice, harira (a tomato based soup), and chebakia (sesame and honey cookies), we went for an American picnic theme. Lacking a deep-fryer to make fried chicken, we substituted chicken breasts rolled in potato chips. Fruit salad, pasta salad, salsa and chips rounded out the menu, with our very best effort reserved for the American classic, Rice Krispie treats, for dessert. This feast took place on day #2 of Ramadan, so we were still learning about the Ramadan routine and didn't really understand who needed to do what and when. We knew the sun would go down (that was a given). We also knew there would be a canon blast and a siren signaling the official time to break the fast.  Once that happened, we broke out the dates and water, and our friends finally smiled. There was some confusion about whether people were going to the mosque to pray or not. Brianna handed out praying attire - scarves and socks (Dr. Suess "Cat in the Hat" socks). Then, the next thing we knew, everyone was praying on a towel in the bedroom.  I decided that was a signal that I should probably get the food on the table.  We ate and ate and ate. Our Muslim friends smiled and looked sleepy. This whole fasting routine is exhausting and takes some getting used to. On day #2 it was still hard. Really hard.

In addition to the focus on fasting, Ramadan also means there is an increased focus on prayer. Over the 30 nights of Ramadan, the Tarawih prayer is a bonus prayer (after the last regular prayer of the day), which is dedicated to reciting the entire Quran over the month of Ramadan. This prayer lasts a long time (from 45 minutes to an hour) and sounds like singing coming from the mosque. Many Muslims go to the mosque en mass at this time. An eerie calm descends on the city. Traffic stops. I can look out from our balcony at the city lights and just listen to the singing reverberating from different mosques around the city. On the first night of Ramadan, we sat at a cafe outside of Marrakech's main mosque, Koutoubia, and watched thousands of people arrive - men headed to one section and women to another - and gather on enormous prayer mats set up outside to accommodate the crowds. It felt festive, communal, and peaceful all at the same time - kind of like church on Christmas Eve.

Reduced hours and restricted diets aside, one of my favorite parts of Ramadan has been the traffic-free streets of Marrakech every evening at sunset. With everyone anxiously watching the clock and waiting for the magic signal to break the fast, things get very quiet in the outside world. Ramadan running has become my new favorite thing to do at sunset.  Nobody yells at me. I don't have to worry about traffic. I just do my thing, and everyone else gets on with their eating. Hassle-free miles for me while hangry fasters rejuvenate.  It's a win-win.

Last ofs...rooftop Cokes

Ramadan is the backdrop against which all events happen in Morocco this month; it was a strange final week for Brianna and Nolan to say good-bye to Marrakech. Favorite restaurants were closed. We had to curb our "juice on the street" habit. Stores, where we had planned to do final souvenir shopping errands, had closed up for the month.  However, we did our best to squeeze in the "lasts" - a last visit to the spice square in the medina, a last visit to the Henna Art Cafe, and a last rooftop Coke overlooking Djemma el-Fna Square. While Nolan counted the minutes until he would get on the plane back to his friends in Vermont, Brianna balanced sad goodbyes with excitement for her return home. And then there was Atlas. Through some intense trans-Atlantic negotiation, Atlas the alley cat somehow managed to secure an invitation to summer in Vermont. A whirlwind of online research ensued to figure out how to transport a cat from Morocco to Canada to the United States. The free alley cat quickly became "not-so-free-anymore" as we visited the vet for vaccinations, purchased an airline carrier, and paid "pet fees" on two different airlines.

Cuteness wins and earns a plane ticket home

Atlas visits the vet

May 31st arrive, and there was a flurry of activity at 4 rue Zellaqa. Packing was under way. Nolan took out his giant suitcase, emptied his shelves into it, zipped it up, and was ready to roll (with his computer stuffed into a grocery bag to carry on the plane).  His small underground sneaker resale business meant that he was transporting a few more pairs of shoes than he had arrived with, but he tossed out a few pairs of underwear and some ripped jeans and was good to go. Brianna filled one suitcase, then another, and then a third. Despite the fact that we thought this was a year of living with only the basics, she had managed to acquire some things along the way. Packing was tricky, but, with luggage scale in hand, she redistributed weight, left things behind, and finally managed to get her three over-stuffed bags within the allowable weight limit. At 2:00 a.m., we headed for the airport - stuffing our little rental car with two kids, all their suitcases, and one nervous cat in a bag. At 4:40 a.m., I got Nolan's last text. "We're boarding the plane."

Making sure he doesn't get left behind

2:00 a.m. good-bye to rue Zellaqa

Mildly excited! 

And...Poof...they were gone.

And, just like that, it came to an end. The year of Moroccan family adventures is now officially a memory - an assortment of photos and blog posts, a collection of warm feelings and new friends, and one more experience imprinted on our traveling souls which will shape us in ways yet to be imagined. Salaam.

The end...

La Famille - Brianna's last restaurant request 

That face you make when your sister
chooses a veggie restuarant, and you
are all carnivore and fast-food.
Refusing to pretend that crust with cream of
carrot and sunflower seeds is a pizza.

Final medina moments

Bri's second home - Henna Art Cafe

Henna skills at work

One last goodbye