Mabruk Ramadan

Neighbor kids doing yoga in my apartment

Peeling beans for traditional Moroccan soup

Pounding pepper for Ramadan meal

Cow is waiting for it's meal

Boy eats yogurt

For sale

Men working in the field by my apartment

Hanut where you can find  a lot of stuff

Tajine for cooking

Mosque in another village

Boys playing in the trees

Woman picking carrots

Lots of fresh veggies

Mosque in my village

Beautiful sunset into Ramadan

 Souk day of Ramadan

In the Bled

Making bread or hobbs for meal at 3am

Kitchen or kuzina 

Boy waiting

Woman on roof

First Ramadan meal

The making of my dresser or mario

Ramadan Tajine with quince

My bike!

Going to the Mosque

A nearby village I bicycled to 

I am very blessed to be a part of the Ramadan experience in Morocco. Ramadan is taken seriously in Morocco and Moroccan's are very proud of being Muslim. My first meal called Al-ftour comes at dusk about 9pm and breaks the fast throughout Morocco. I started with one date to cleanse the palate and help the stomach digest as fasting happens throughout the day. Followed by a sweet meat tajine, carrot orange juice, bread, salad and water, I enjoyed every bite as though I have never eaten before. At 11pm the second course of hard boiled eggs, dates, coffee and prickly pear was just the start. At midnight, the third course of traditional Moroccan soup called harira was served. Harira is a delicious tomato based soup made with meat called shebakia, cilantro, pepper, hummus and beans and a few other spices. It's very satisfying. Fruit, melon and watermelon was the final course. Stuffed and sleepy, it was especially fun to be with a family I have made good friends and feel very at home with. Afterwards, I slept for a few hours until I was woken up at 3:30am when the next meal was served which was fruit, harira, bread and dates with coffee. How was I going to eat again I wondered? I told them I was full and they sent me back to bed. Tired and hungry, I walked home the next afternoon in the heat where I ran into other women and children sitting under the shade of the trees preparing food for Al-ftour all over again. I stopped to chat and they sent me on my way and invited me to join them for the festivities. When I reached the center of town the men working at the hanuts wanted to chat and ask me how I was doing and if I am fasting? One of the most interesting experiences I have had thus far, has been the observation inside a mosque at night after the breaking of  fast. I was invited by a family in a nearby town whom I've met before. After our beautiful meal, they asked me if I'd like to go to the mosque. How could I decline, I wondered? They wrapped my head up in a scarf and located a jilaba that I could wear. My hand was grabbed and we walked to a nearby mosque where the entrance was separate from the men, a smaller prayer area where lattice and beautiful blue tile dived the room. I felt very humbled to be participating during such a crucial time of year. I wasn't sure what to do, so I moved up and down with the others as I listened carefully to the reciting of the Koran given by the official. He faced the tiled wall in the opposite direction of the men praying as the reciting was coming through speakers to the back of the mosque. I have only seen this in movies or on television and have always wanted to be a part of this process as it's a very spiritual event. A small girl came in late to find her mother and sat by the side watching me all the while. "Slli", she whispered over and over. It means, "pray" in Arabic. I shook my head "no" and smiled back as I was in awe about this once in a lifetime experience. Although I am not Muslim, I am so grateful for these very experiences as the natives are open to my arrival here and think they are appreciative of my efforts.