Visit to the Iftar Tent

This week is the last week of Islam’s fasting month of Ramadan. Excitement and anticipation in the area grew as the “time-off for Eid” neared the 20th day of Ramadan. During Ramadan, various companies set up tents throughout the city, offering Iftar or `dinner after sunset`, completely free of charge. These tents are mainly used by those who have completed the spiritual journey but either cannot enjoy Iftar with their family, or cannot afford it. JEN’s office in Amman was very near a tent run by a Jordanian trading company.

JEN always tries to express their interest and respect for the ritual and often visits the tents. Obviously we understand the spiritual importance of Ramadan to Muslims, and as the tents are primarily for those entering into Ramadan, a Hijab scarf hiding hair is always worn for female staff, and long-sleeved shirt and pants by all.

Once inside the tents it was clear that it is mostly male laborers who use the tents, with only three family groups. Many were very interested in this unfamiliar group of Asian women, as understandably they were not the usual type of person you would see eating Iftar!  Nevertheless, we were always welcomed warmly by the locals. The tents offer different dishes every day, the days dish being a “Moroccan stew with tomato and gram”. It was indeed very delicious! They are open everyday during Ramadan.