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Monday, August 1, 2011

Jerusalem: First Iftar

Today the Muslim group introduced the Ramadan fast to the tribe.  The students rose at 4 am to partake in suhoor, the traditional Ramadan breakfast, which takes place before dawn and is an opportunity for those fasting to hydrate themselves and fill their stomachs before the long day of fasting ahead.  After our suhoor, the students returned to bed and awoke around 9 to begin the tour of the Muslim sites and Mt. Olive.  The day closed with one of my favorite Dragons' student led activities to date: a student run Iron Chef Iftar!  The iftar is the breaking of the fast, which occurs at sunset.  Today, from about four to eight pm, our dear students, slightly loopy and with quite a few giggles due to the hunger of a day of fasting, tracked down ingredients in the markets of the Old City, cooked up a storm in the kitchens of the Citadel Hostel and served to their I-team judges a sumptuous iftar meal.  Spiced chicken, dates, yogurt, couscous, rice, salad and some mysterious M&M filled Ramadan cookies were all put to the test as our team of judges evaluated the dishes prepared by the three teams based on the Iron Chef's criteria of taste, preparation and sassiness!  The winners were the Jews, whose spiced chicken was loved by all. In second place were the Muslims followed at a close third by the Christian contingent.  The group is now on it's way to bed, stomachs full with pleasant memories of our day long celebration of Ramadan!

Our Tribe on Mt. Olive, 1 Aug 2011

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