The end of the day

One particular friend of mine has wonderful relatives who always cook a tasty iftar meal for her, knowing that she will have been at work all day and won't want to be faffing about in the kitchen when evening comes. The meals that they cook are always delicious and are prepared, one knows, with love. Few things could be more pleasurable than sitting down in one of the little wooden kiosks that have become such a feature of Göreme to share in such a supper, squeezing in around a tray on the floor with as many other friends and family as can manage to get their legs around it. It's a far cry from the expensive ready-prepared iftar banquets on offer in İstanbul, but in terms of sense of community there's really little to beat it.

Sadly, I'm too much of a wimp to be trying to fast in the heat of September, although I did once manage it in December. The interesting thing then was to discover how varied were the views on the rights and wrongs of my doing so. In Göreme, there's no doubt that my closest neighbors would always appreciate me joining them in going without since this would help cement my place in the community. In İstanbul, however, there were raised eyebrows, with many people asking, quite reasonably, why a non-Muslim would want to fast when they didn't have to.

This year has, of course, been a particularly testing time in Göreme since Ramadan has coincided with the peak of the tourist season. Consequently, there have been many women who have been continuing with the back-breaking work of cleaning the rooms in rock-cut hotels with many staircases, and many men slaving over hot stoves to produce mouthwatering meals for our visitors, then running in and out of doors to serve them, while all the time having to go without water. Inevitably there have been more people opting out of fasting than at times of year when it was easier, but a commendable number have not only stuck with it regardless, but have done so uncomplainingly, regularly assuring me that there's nothing to it as they're used to it.

I take all that with a pinch of salt, and my admiration for them is considerable, especially when I remember that it will be the same next year and the one after and the one after that until finally Ramadan falls in early June and the days start to get shorter again.