How To NOT Overeat At Iftar

one thing i learnt from life is that spending ramadan in cairo, or basically anywhere else around arabs, is definitely gonna make you gain weight and look somewhat like an elephant.. you see, though being delicious, their food is far from being "hospital friendly".. plus they have this tradition of making hundreds of different dishes when inviting people over.. caring tants always keep putting some more food on your plate and it's impolite to say no even if you are about to explode

so here are some tips for how to win the battle against fat and not
overeat at iftar

- drink before you start eating.. this will fill ur stomach and you won't be able to eat too much

- the longer you sit at the table, the more you'll eat.. dine with one friend, you'll eat about 35% more.. with a group of seven, you'll eat 96% more.. but as soon as being invited for iftar you simply can't eat alone, try to leave the table as soon as you can.. or, well... just keep this rule in mind :)

- eat slowly, always have some food on your plate.. this way you'll have an excuse which will help you to suppress the attempts of aunties to "put you some more mahshi"

- rule of two: when eating, put only two items at a time on your plate.. even if you take seconds (and something's telling me you will), you'll eat a lot less

- opt for vegetables.. we all know they are our friends.. it's a great way to fill up your stomach with fewer calories.. dietitians recommend that half of your plate should be vegetables.. not fatta

- avoid soda as it is one of the leading sources of empty calories.. instead have plain or flavored water.. or if you crave a sweet drink, limit yourself to a glass of fruit juice

- as they say, "there's always room for desert".. just try to make sure this room is limited.. i know it's hard

anyway, i guess sometimes there's no harm in just letting your hair down and enjoying the food, specially in ramadan when so many special and delicious dishes are made.. just remember - ramadan is not about food

Zamzam Water For Millions

...every day three million cups of zamzam water are drunk at the grand mosque in makkah during ramadan.. more than 1800 cubic meters of water at 90 drinking points consisting of 1100 taps are consumed inside the mosque and 270 cubic meters at 43 drinking areas of 100 taps in the courtyards outside

it is reported that new drinking areas have been constructed in the basement, on the first and second floors as well as on the masa'a (area for the ritual of sa'i between the hills safa and marwa) and in the northern courtyard

pilgrims and visitors are keen to drink plenty of zamzam water, which is a tradition of the prophet muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).. zamzam water is also supplied to the prophet’s mosque in madinah at a daily average of 274 cubic meters

a special administrative office, zamzam united office, is striving to upgrade zamzam distribution so that pilgrims, particularly during hajj and ramadan, do not find any difficulty in getting desired quantities

pilgrims also take an amount of bottled up zamzam water home to be given as gifts.. they may take up to 10-20 liters in carry-on luggage and don't have to pay for the extra weight

source: arab news

Taraweeh

just keep it simple

Begging Business In Ramadan

the number of beggars in the kingdom swells during ramadan when saudis as well as expatriates give generously to the poor and the needy

now, let me note that islam, while strongly promoting charity of all kinds, prohibits begging without dire nessecity (thus, it's illegal here).. a muslim is encouraged to safeguard his dignity, develop self-reliance, and steer clear of depending on others.. it is not permissible for him to depend on charity while he is able to earn a sufficient subsistence for himself and his family through his own efforts (more on this topic here)

unfortunately, most of the people begging in the streets of saudi arabia are not really in need, 'cause support is easily available here for those in need in terms of charities offering monthly help with food or other assistance.. moreover, according to reports,there are some organized criminal groups which bring old men, women and children into the country for begging

the most recent annual report from the ministry of social affairs says that there are 5206 saudi beggars in the kingdom and 21136 non-saudis

yemenis accounted for 95% of those arrested, a local press report said, adding that about 3500 yemeni child beggars are held every month by specialized agencies in the kingdom

saudi women are also not without a sin, around 60% of saudi beggars are female.. some of them are divorced or widowed, others have husbands in jail.. the authorities are trying to help those women by finding suitable work for them.. if they have no qualifications they might find work as security guards or servers of coffee or supervisors at wedding occasions.. however, one of the biggest problems is that many of them turn down the opportunity to work, perhaps because the pay is low and they prefer the freedom of begging

fighting begging during ramadan is one of the main problems facing saudi security officers and social affairs ministry officials.. apart from traffic points, beggars wait for their catch at ATMs, mosques, supermarkets and restaurants.. however, it is the duty of all saudi residents to combat this phenomenon.. charity should be given to a muslim who happens to deserve it.. if it is known that he will use it in a bad way or he's not asking out of need, then he's not entitled to it.. it is preferable that one who pays sadaqah should give it to the pious, the knowledgeable, and those of a kind disposition

sources: saudi gazette, arab news, islamonline.net

Ramadan Kareem!

assalamu aleikum dear sisters! wish you all a blessed ramadan, full of good deeds, repentance, self-improvement, family meetings and Allah's mercy.. ameen

Ready For Ramadan

the holy month of ramadan is almost here and saudi arabia is ready to welcome it

shopping centers, supermarkets, hypermarkets and small stores around the country are all geared up to welcome ramadan shoppers.. they are displaying huge stocks of items that are in high demand during ramadan.. these include various types of dates, sambosa wraps, spring roll wraps, dried apricots, oats, juices, and syrups which are used during the time of breaking the fast.. also on display are various types of nuts, dried grapes, china grass, dairy products and macaroni that people buy in bulk for the month

tents have been raised to host charity iftar meals during ramadan.. the tents cater to some hundreds of thousands of fasting people (mostly expatriate workers engaged in menial labour) that dine at these facilities.. ramadan tents are raised adjacent to the mosques or in the open ground in different parts of the city.. group of workers start to arrive at ramadan tents just before iftar time.. a meal packet contains kabsa (rice with chicken), bottles of juice and water, dates and fruits enough for one person.. the free meals offered at these tents could enable poor-paid workers to save money on their daily food expenses

a number of charity campagnes have been launched, including one that aims to collect toys from several shopping malls around the country to present them on the occasion of eid al-fitr to more than 31000 orphans, including 5000 children in saudi arabia itself and more than 26000 others living in various islamic countries, mashAllah

in addition to lots of other things going on, the streets have been decorated too

so, despite all the inconveniences caused by the swine flu and the signifacant decline in the number of pilgrims coming for umra in ramadan this year, saudi is ready and on the watch for the new moon marking the beginning of the holy month!

source: saudi gazette

Award!

omg, i've been given my first award! thanks arab mania, that's really sweet of you :)

The rules of this award are;
•List five current obsessions.
•Pass the award on to five more fabulous blogs.
•On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.
•When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. Don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by leaving a comment on their blog.

ok, current obsessions
1. internet.. i guess it's rather permanent than current though
2. programmes about cooking.. the problem is, i watch, write down recipes but never cook it.. just get hungry from all this watching
3. shopping.. oh well, let's face it who doesn't have it?
4. disinfecting everything with dettol
5. skincare

i hereby solemnly award hijab chic, aalia, inspired muslimah, mint.fresh.muslim, ms.mango

It's Interesting To Know That...

...jeddah, situated on the coast of the red sea, is the second largest city in saudi arabia.. its' population is 3.4 million people and it's the largest urban center in makkah province.. jeddah is famous for high levels of humidity and, unlike other cities of saudi arabia, warm winters (+15 at midnight and +25 in the afternoon).. the summers are hot, tepmerature going above +40 in the afternoon and dropping to +30 at midnight.. it really feels like steam room when you go out on a summer day, the only thing missing seems to be a bath sponge

Embroidered Abaya

a bit of delicate embroidery on an abaya makes it look very feminine while keeping it modest.. it would make a very nice outfit for going out on a friday night.. something like this

Where Is The Love?

every muslim knows that salah (ritual prayer) in congregation of two or more persons is 27 times better than praying alone.. it is reported that women at the times of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led other women in obligatory prayers, that is they prayed in congregation

back in russia we, ladies, always used to pray together in congregation, whenever we had any kind of gathering, be it in the islamic center or at one of our homes

in egypt i was pleased to see strangers praying together in mosques or prayer rooms in malls.. sometimes you start praying just two of you and other ladies join in and in the end it's a whole row, mashAllah.. i remember once me and my friend were in a prayer room in a mall (no, i do other things except going to malls, believe me).. we started to pray and then a stranger woman joined in.. after we finished she said "i'm so glad i was able to catch you praying, i love praying in congregation!"

memories of these moments warm my heart.. and make me wonder why i don't see anything like this here, in what is supposed to be the heart of muslim world...

not so long ago me and my friend were sitting in a mall's prayer room, among dozens of other black-clad women, waiting for the prayer to begin.. on hearing the ikamah (call for the beginning of prayer) we stood up only to be joined by one (!) other woman.. but we were not able to pray with the imam anyway, we simply couldn't hear him, 'cuz other women were talking on the phones, chatting and whatever

it seems that here women prefer to pray on their own

but isn't it a wonderful feeling, praying with strangers? when all of you are engaged in one activity - worshiping your Lord.. isn't this what establishes love between us, as well as spreading of salams does, and makes us feel those bonds that unite us, strangers, as sisters in islam?

The Heart Of Entertainment

if there's one hot spot you can't miss out when in jeddah, it is undoubtedly tahlia street.. located in what was once the outskirts of jeddah, it has become the heart of city life for those who live here.. in the early nineties, tahlia gained attention as a cruising road for the young generation to show off their cool cars.. later the introduction of a great number of cafes, fast food chains and restaurants changed the dynamic nature of the street turning it into food mecca

now if you’re a shopaholic, tahlia is definitely where you can get your fix.. this is where the label conscious will find high-end designer brands.. for fashionistas who prefer a mix, there are a number of shopping centers located along tahlia to choose from.. for the young ones, most malls have an amusement level dedicated to entertaining children with rides, games, and activities.. some of the malls also include a hyper grocery store.. plus here you'll find a full size ikea which will provide you with any interior needs you might have

tahlia, however, is not only about fun and games.. there's a business-oriented center located towards the very beginning of the street.. plus saudi arabia’s three cellular service providers have outlets located on tahlia, giving easy access to all of your communication requirements.. ATMs and bank branches are also readily available on the street

but since tahlia has it all, everyone loves to go there.. therefore it can be quite congested with traffic on the weekends

tahlia starts from the corniche (the coast) down to makkah road and is constantly being renovated and redesigned with new shops and restaurants.. with the relaxed criteria for construction, taller buildings are being erected on tahlia, while adding a much-needed change to the jeddah skyline.. with all the amenities available, it’s no wonder that tahlia is considered jeddah’s - and possibly the kingdom’s - entertainment hub

source: destination jeddah

A Bit Of Pink

It's Interesting To Know That...

... saudi arabia is the world's largest producer of desalinated water.. 28 plants (including the largest water desalination plant in the world) provide more than 70% of the country's drinking water as well as supplying the kingdom with more than 28 million megawatts of electricity, which is about 21% of all electricity generated in the country.. it is done in the process of solar thermal desalination (using solar energy)

that's why tap water here slightly smells like sea.. well, at least in my tap...

Shopping Hardships

shopping is great here, everything is so much cheaper, specially at the time of sales like now (yaaay!), you can find all kinds of things and the quality is good.. to my mind there are only two problems with the malls:

1) there are no fitting rooms for ladies

this almost made my eye twitch.. how am i supposed to buy jeans without trying them on? well, the idea is that a woman is not supposed to remove her garments anywhere except for in the safety of her home.. so you can buy all the things your soul desires (and your budget allows), try them on "in the safety of your home" and in case something doesn't fit, return or exchange it.. another option is to try them in the mall's toilet.. emm, well allow me to just leave this option to the others...

2) all the shop assistants are men

all of them.. even in lingerie and make-up stores.. the former is embarassing.. i once entered a lingerie shop, to test the waters so to say, and i was wondering if any of the women would be brave enough to buy that black lace garter belt infront of all these men.. i wouldn't

and men in make-up is emm.. out of place? today my friend and i went to a mall.. we entered a make-up store and asked for eyeshadow brushes.. the guy showed us to the place where make-up brushes were displayed, handled us a bunch of brushes, then another bunch and then he said something so true about most men: "sorry, i know nothing about make-up".. oh... okay...

rumour has it though that they are currently training women to work in lingerie stores.. please hurry! and train some for make-up stores too

"This Abaya Is So Last Season!"

every woman in saudi arabia, be it a saudi or an expat, has a beautiful (or at least not ugly) abaya on her wish list

in riyadh women have to be more conservative in the choice of their abayas as there are some restrictions, prohibiting to wear colourful clothes.. however here in jeddah women like to wear abayas with all kinds of embroidery, crystals, lace and other colourful decorations

it turns out that most saudi women are willing to invest more in abayas than the average expatriate women.. they also buy new abayas more frequently, in almost every season, or have their own custom-made abayas, making sure that they follow the latest trends in abaya styles (saudi gazette).. yes, there are actually trends in black abaya styles! they are seasonal and apply to the abayas' designs, colours of decorations, fabrics, etc.

to be glamorous an abaya doesn't have to be heavily decorated, some stones or a touch of embroidery on the sleeves and the bottom will make it look stylish and elegant.. but above all, women here make sure the abaya fits well

abayas are priced according to their designs, embroidery, fabric, etc. the price may range from SR50 to more than SR1000

silk, polyester, georgette and satin are the popularly used abaya fabrics.. most of them are imported from japan, france, indonesia, korea, thailand and china, with those from japan being the most common and of good quality

just a few days ago i went to an abaya shop to buy a plain black lightweight abaya.. it's an emirati brand and the quality is great by the way! there were lots of women taking their measurements, talking to the tailors, looking through heeps of all kinds of decoration samples, choosing, ordering, trying abayas on... dozens of matching scarves on the racks and in glass showcases their crystals glittering in the shop lights, as though whispering "buy me.. buy me.." and tonnes of cartons with all kinds and sizes of abayas lined up on the shelves behind the counter.. looks something like this

isn't it just the abaya heaven?...

Black And Gold

i love this abaya! it's simple, yet feminine.. here's a somewhat fancy-pancy look for a date with your husband ;)