Bedouin-style Iftar

In the Islamic calendar, the month of Ramadan is a month of fasting (and other religious traditions). Each day during the month, Muslims cannot eat from sunrise to sundown; the meal before sunrise is called Sahour (around 4am) and the meal after sundown is called Iftar (around 6pm).
Last night, I had the unique opportunity to travel into the desert on horseback with about 6 Egyptians and a few other Americans to enjoy iftar in the Bedouin manner. The Bedouins are the nomadic people of Egypt, traveling through the desert on horseback. Being with Egyptians, we were able to get the best deals on the horses and the food; the evening only cost 75LE, which is about 15USD, including horseback riding and food. The cabs to and from Giza was a small additional cost of only a few USD. I met up with the son of one of my Arabic professors and the other Egyptians and Americans around 5pm, and we took a cab out to Giza, not far from the pyramids. From there, we got on our horses and headed out into the desert, the pyramids not far in the distance the entire time. Once we had found our spot, the Egyptians struggled against the wind for a little while set up a fire for some light, and we took out the pre-prepared food of chicken, rice, pita bread, and, of course, coke and water. We spent about an hour in the desert eating and talking, exchanging stories about home and our families. Finally, we mounted our horses and rode back out of the desert.
To head home, we jumped into a mini-bus, which is essentially a VW bus from the 60s, that took us back within a short cab ride from our various locations. That was quite the Egyptian experience since there were far too many of us inside the little bus, leading a few of the Egyptians to stand on the edge of the open door, holding onto the roof to not fall into the street.
It was a great experience to spend some quality time with some Egyptians (it can be hard at school sometimes and its easier to hang out with mostly Americans, as much as we try to avoid doing so) and share in the cultural experience (including the ride home!).


Kevin

PS I'll try to add the one picture from the night to this post once I have a chance to upload it onto my computer