Ramadan 2017

We completed our first Ramadan in Iran. It was our 5th Ramadan away from "home," meaning, living away from our hometown and family in Texas. It was my 12 year old daughter's 4th time fasting in Ramadan, and my 11 year old daughter's 3rd time. MashaaAllah (by God's Grace), they did great! They rarely complained about their hunger. We did change our schedule though, by staying up almost all night, so that we could sleep in half of the day. My husband still had to take a morning class every day, but was home by afternoon.

It has been said that summertime in Qom can be "dull" for Western Muslims. Most of the English speaking community who lives here goes back to their home countries for the summer to visit family and/or friends. So with Ramadan being in the summer these past few years, there are no large English speaking communities that gather for iftar with English scholars giving Ramadan speeches like many of us from the States might be used to. Most of us who stay behind might have iftar with a few friends here and there. My brother who stayed in a Howza dorm this Ramadan along with a couple of other students, was provided a simple sehri (morning breakfast) and iftar (although towards the last week the service was lagging a bit).

There is iftar at the main shrines in Iran of course. To have iftar at the shrine of Lady Masumeh (a.s) one needs to get his hands on a few of the limited supply of tickets to gain entry. The iftar would be a humble serving of fruit and bread with water. We didn't get to partake in that nice experience this year unfortunately.

Those of us who fast know that being able to eat whatever snacks you craved while hungry is one of the best parts of well, eating time! We were a bit worried about it for our kids but were happy to find these "flaming hot cheetoz" that are similar to the ones in the states which really hit that spicy spot.

And my husband missed drinking Gatorade to quench his thirst so he had to settle for making an icy cold drink with one of the various 'syrups' that he found here. 

The shops and restaurants here had different timings during Ramadan. They would open after iftar and stay open until 4 or 5 in the mornings. People go out and eat and socialize at those times also.

I also noticed that the internet was less reliable during Ramadan. We also had a few days with electricity and water outages. Perhaps during Ramadan these things have less staff working to maintain them? Who knows? Maybe it was all a coincidence and/or I noticed these things more.

The 19th, 21st, and 23rd were the days that Imam Ali (a.s.)'s martyrdom was commemorated. Black "Ya Ali" banners were on nearly every corner. It is nice to live somewhere that honors truly great historical figures.

On the last Friday of Ramadan it was Al-Quds Day. My husband went out to rally in the hot sun of Qom and took a few pictures.

The Eid moon was "sighted" first in America so they celebrated Eid al Fitr a day before us here in Iran. It's all based on a lunar, moon-sighting calendar. Some folks get bothered that not all Muslims celebrate on the same day for a few reasons. It's hard explaining why and when you'd need a day off from work or school since it's really touch and go at times. But that's not a problem here I'm sure!

Also, it "seems" like Eid is celebrated on different days among Shia and Sunni often, which can create some tensions and inconveniences! This time, some Shia celebrated first in the U.S. while we Shia in Iran did so the next day. So for some, Ramadan lasted for 29 days total while for others it was the full 30 days. It's really not the big of a deal, it's just a common thing.

My husband went for the early morning Eid prayers in the beautiful shrine of Lady Masumeh (a.s.) and he took this lovely pic though I'm sure it was even more lovely in real life. 

Some shops were closed on Eid, some for a few days after. My husband had the week off from his summer classes. We noticed families and friends gathering in our apartment complex, one of our neighbors in particular had a lot of guests over and sent us a plate of sweet halwa.

I definitely missed my family back in Texas this Eid. Though I've never been big on socializing during Ramadan or on Eid, this time it was close to the 8 month mark of us being away from America, so it did hit me a little harder this year. Couple that with not knowing if and when the next visit will be, I'm really starting to feel homesick for the USA.

Still, we try to stay positive and enjoy what we can. Here's our humble Eid table and decor :

Au Revoir 

Book City, Here We Come

Several weeks back, my daughter asked if there was any place in Iran that sold English books for tweens like her (Oh, we miss you Barnes&Noble!). We searched online and found there was a bookstore called Book City in Tehran that sold such fictional fun. I've wanted to go to Tehran since it's meant to be the lovely bustling city bursting with young fresh faced people living exciting lives (or something like that). So we planned to go one weekend, figuring it would take a one hour drive from Pardisan. 

First we had to get gasoline. There was a long line! My husband said it was normal and would go by quickly. He was right!

Our first stop was a rest station. It was really huge and really nice! Colorful and refined decor, restaurants, a toy store, a chocolate store, really clean and large bathrooms with a few Western toilets, and even a lovely fountain encased in classic blue swirly tiles.

So then we headed off toward the big city to find Book City. But then the GPS thingy said it'd be more like 2 hours to get to our spot. Oh no, cranky kids alert. 

We drove past the shrine dedicated to the resting place of the 

late Ayatollah Khomeini, peace be upon his soul.

Got into Southern Tehran...

And after a long while of driving around to find it, we finally did! 

But it was CLOSED! Oh no, kids weren't too pleased, and neither were me and my 

stressed out husband.

My kids wanted to give up and go home. But alas, my husband was not quitting! 

So we found another location for BOOK CITY! It was much smaller than the first one.

But it turned out that they did NOT have English books! The worker there said we'd have to go the Northern Tehran Book City location to find the English books. Aha! NORTHERN Tehran is where the cosmopolitan action is at. It's another 45 minutes away from the South. By then we were so tired that we decided to go back home. The kids bought a few little items from the store such as this cute eraser...

Then on the way back towards Qom we stopped at another rest station. It was very cool with arcade games and rides for the children. There were lights that changed colors, an eating area, and even a splash pad that obviously opened in the hot months only. There were a couple of Western toilets there but it was a bad experience since the floor there was wet, it smelled bad, and there was no toilet paper. But let's forget that. There was a nice little shop selling colorful ethnic looking items, a candy shop, and more.

We headed home to see some lovely Iranian mountains as the sun began to set. Maybe someday we'll get to Northern Tehran. I hope I hope I hope. InshaaAllah (God Willing).  

Random Spots

My eagle-eyed husband spotted this super cool Chevy Nova from the 1970s with a Texas license plate (in addition to its legit Iranian one) cruising the streets in Pardisan. So random, right?

And here's a random, quick video my husband made of the tasty treats and nicely decorated cakes you can find here, even in the small grocery stores. 

He knew I'd want to see those SPONGEBOB CAKES, OMG!

POMEGRANATES

My husband’s friend gifted us with several pomegranates, which are the favorite native fruit of Iran. I really did not know what to do with them all. I don’t like to eat the arils (seeds) alone, but my husband does so he ate some raw. 

And with the juice I was able to squeeze from the pomegranate, we drank a bit (it was sharp and sour, refreshing) and then I mixed some of it into this yogurt sauce I had made for breakfast. 

Yogurt-pomegranate sauce with cucumbers and tomatoes, potato & pea stuffed bread, omelette, olives, walnuts and pistachios, pomegranate arils, and tea.

ROSE WATER

Remember this GORGEOUS bouquet of roses my husband gave me for my birthday? 

I hate to see flowers die, so I decided to make some rose water from the petals. 

Just put the petals in a pot and cover with water, 

boil for a few minutes until the petals resemble cooked red cabbage. 

Then strain the water into a jar or spray bottle. The water can be used to freshen up a room or in your hair or on your skin. Voila, pretty rose water!

ON THE TV

Spotted Disney's CARS on the tv here. It was nice to see a familiar family favorite film ...in FARSI. 

RANDOM SPOTTING of HALLOWEEN

Remember in an earlier post, 40 Halloweens, I wondered if Iranians knew about or celebrated Halloween? I was surprised and tickled to see that there was some mention of it as I saw in a PressTV video about Iranian chocolate. I think this is in a shopping mall in Tehran:

Well, that's all the random spots of random spotting for now. Thanks for reading!