Ramadan began: Should western tourists still travel to Islamic countries?

Tourists from all over the world travel to Islamic countries including the UAE, Egypt, Oman, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia. With the begin of Ramadan little is changing for western tourists traveling to most countries. Of course in some regions less frequented by tourists tips given here may not apply, but in General the Ramadan season is as good of a month as any month to travel and enjoy the beaches, the culture and the people of Muslim countries.

Ramadan is the holy month of the year in the Muslim calendar, the one when the Muslims stop eating, drinking and getting sex from the dawn until the sunset. It’s also the month when the Muslims pray more hoping getting more benediction and being closer to Allah.This month started for most regions last night.

Ramadan commemorates the revelation of the Quran to Mohammed and is celebrated for the whole of the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, the dates according to the western calendar become earlier by about 11 days each year.

What happens?
The most noticeable feature of Ramadan is that faithful Moslems, do not let anything pass between their lips or into any other part of their bodies between sunrise and sunset for the whole month. That includes not only water and food but also anything else, such as a cigarette. Some people are exempt, including people who are sick, nursing mothers and young children. Older children fast for half the day.

At sunset the faithful wait to hear confirmation from the local mosque that the sun has set and then take their first food and drink (‘Iftar’) since before sunrise. This meal is often taken communally in the street, accompanied by singing, lanterns, and other decorations.

Effect on tourism
During Ramadan, some commercial timetables may be adjusted to allow more time for prayer and reflection. Together with the fasting of the faithful, this can affect normal local lifestyles and can reduce restaurant and bar facilities slightly.

This may make some people avoid going to Islamic countries during Ramadan, but really it shouldn’t. In practice it doesn’t make a huge amount of difference to normal routines in most countries.

Tourists sites will be open as normal in most countries. Very few restaurants or refreshment stalls frequented by tourists may close for a while during the day to allow time for prayer, and at sunset for Iftar.

Train timetables are the same. The taxi-buses continue to run. Private hire drivers continue to work. They do not usually stop for Iftar, but you may notice them listening out for the signal from the mosque and breaking open a lunchbox or taking a few snack items, typically dates. You could invite the taxi driver to stop for Iftar if you like, but most will keep going.

Hotels will operate as normal. Tourists and guest usually will not notice any difference in most hotel operations.

Food and drink will continue to be served. The only exception is that alcohol will be harder to come by and strict moslems will not serve it at all. This does not tend to affect drinks at hotels, but in smaller restaurants you may have to order a non-alcoholic drink.

Smoking by tourists is not restricted any more during Ramadan than it is at other times of the year.

Commercial places, such as shops and banks, may keep different hours to allow time for prayer and for breaking the fast at sunset. You can usually complete all your banking and shopping but the hours of opening may be more limited. The time when you are most likely to find banks and shops closed and services unavailable is around noon, for the main prayers of the day, and at sunset, for Iftar.

At the end of the month of Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr) there is a feast and a great deal of partying.

Should you change your own behavior?
Tourists are not expected to observe Ramadan. You can eat, drink, smoke and do all other normal tourist things at the sites, in the town and everywhere else as normal, although alcohol may be a little more difficult to find outside the hotels.

Out of respect to local people, some tourists would not to be too blatant about eating or drinking in public places during Ramadan, or smoking in a taxi, where the driver may be a smoker who is denying himself during the day, but really that is a matter for the individual.