Late night work
Living in Egypt (or probably any Arab country) may seem a little strange and off for Westerners. In my opinion the vast differences that appear at this time of year might depend on Ramadan (the most important month of the year for Muslims) and the practice of fasting during the day hours.
When I'm about to eat something out of home, I can't stop thinking about that I'm eating and the people who work in the restaurant aren't and won't be, until about 6-7 p.m. (that's when the sunset is). When I'm downtown among people during the day, it feels unfair to take out my bottle of water, which I always bring with me, cause it feels like I'm offending the people around me by drinking (cause they can't). (And now, forgive me for this rough distinction between "us" and "them", but it will make this whole conversation a lot easier.) So these two example are when it feels like we make them feel bad (although, every Muslim I spoke to insist that they don't want to eat or drink and they don't think about it during the day, not even if they see someone else drinking – so I should not feel guilty about doing it – according to "them").
How about the opposite? Are there situations when "we" get disturbed by those who practice the holy month, and have to adjust their whole lives after it? Well hell yes! But let me get this clear first: I personally absolutely agree with the idea of "one should adapt after the local practice, conventions and rules".
But.. there is this one thing that is different here. Something that is difficult to like, or even to accept, though you might fully understand the reasons of it. It's the practice of working at nights. It seems like every building worker in Sharm lives according to the New Zealand Standard Time (that is like +12 UTC folks...). I really understand that they want to work after the iftar (the first meal of day during the fast in Ramadan), but it doesn't make it easier to fall asleep when they're banging on your roof at 2.30 a.m.! Anyway, enjoy the pictures I just took since I couldn't sleep anyway.
But there's something else that "we" might like about Ramadan: the practice of decorating everything with colorful lights which is soooo familiar for "us" (if you have seen Christmas decoration in December, you know what I'm talking about ;)). Check out those pictures too!
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