Some middle school aged boys setting up "shop" on the sidewalk outside our building. This doesn't have anything to do with Ramazan...just a recent picture.
Each night around 7:30pm the line outside "our breadstore" (photo taken from our balcony) looks like this. People are buying their special bread for the large evening meal that takes place at sundown. 
Ramazan has been quieter than I expected. Well, that is the days have been quieter. The nights...'round 3am or so...not so quiet. Just as we were warned, the drummer, riding in an open truck, goes up and down the streets beating the drum to wake the faithful up so that they can eat a big meal before the fast begins at sun-up. The drum is not like a deep, rhythmic: "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM." It's more of a scattered "boomboobmboombomboombooomboombobmbombbom." During the first night I got up and peeked out the window because I was so curious. Then, from the second night on curiosity wore off and the need for deep sleep took over. The drummer (actually I think it is 5 drummers on rotation) comes by our apartment twice in a 5 min. period each night as we're situated on the corner of two streets. Yesterday evening two men came to our door. One was carrying the aforementioned DRUM and the other must have been there for moral support (or the road manager perhaps? :). They were stopping at every apartment along their route asking for money for waking us up in the middle of the night. I had no problem playing the "foreigner card," and sending them off with a polite, "No, I'm sorry." I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt me later in the month ...you know, like the drummer purposely drumming outside our apartment for an extended period of time.
Each night around 7:30pm the line outside "our breadstore" (photo taken from our balcony) looks like this. People are buying their special bread for the large evening meal that takes place at sundown. 
Ramazan has been quieter than I expected. Well, that is the days have been quieter. The nights...'round 3am or so...not so quiet. Just as we were warned, the drummer, riding in an open truck, goes up and down the streets beating the drum to wake the faithful up so that they can eat a big meal before the fast begins at sun-up. The drum is not like a deep, rhythmic: "BOOM, BOOM, BOOM." It's more of a scattered "boomboobmboombomboombooomboombobmbombbom." During the first night I got up and peeked out the window because I was so curious. Then, from the second night on curiosity wore off and the need for deep sleep took over. The drummer (actually I think it is 5 drummers on rotation) comes by our apartment twice in a 5 min. period each night as we're situated on the corner of two streets. Yesterday evening two men came to our door. One was carrying the aforementioned DRUM and the other must have been there for moral support (or the road manager perhaps? :). They were stopping at every apartment along their route asking for money for waking us up in the middle of the night. I had no problem playing the "foreigner card," and sending them off with a polite, "No, I'm sorry." I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt me later in the month ...you know, like the drummer purposely drumming outside our apartment for an extended period of time.
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