- Title: QATAR: Dates popular for Ramadan in Doha
- Date: 16th September 2007
- Summary: (MER1) DOHA, QATAR (RECENT) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) STREET SCENES AT NIGHT MARKET
- Embargoed: 1st October 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Qatar
- Country: Qatar
- Topics: Economic News
- Reuters ID: LVADDI0QH1SOT9812YLA4TUFFB1B
- Story Text: With the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in full swing, local Qatari residents flock to markets -- or souks -- with dates at the top of their shopping lists.
Shoppers crowd narrow pathways filled with thousands of sacks of different type of dates.
Traditionally, the fruit is consumed to break every day's fast during Ramadan. For Qataris, dates are not just a source of nutrition, but also an integral part of the social and religious set-up.
It is estimated that 80 percent of the dates in the local markets are imported from Saudi Arabia, which produces some of the finest dates in the region.
"Saudi Arabia is the top producer of dates in the region. They have good, clean factories. Their dates are clean, and well packaged. There is no sand sticks or anything in them, it's all clean," says Saud Mabrouk al-Abdullah, a shopkeeper at Souk Waqif.
Dates of all varieties can be found in Qatar, including the Khalaas, Sheeshi, Nabout and Saif varieties. These dates do not only vary in taste but also in price.
As one local resident explains, dates are a staple of the Qatari diet throughout the year.
"In my opinion, there is not one Qatari family which can put food on the table without (serving) dates, be it during Ramadan or at any other time. We can't give up fresh dates when it is their season or dried ones when they become available. Dates are always present on Qatari tables, whether fresh or dried," says Abdullah Mohammed al-Jabir.
"Dates are the most important thing in Ramadan. The breaking of the fast during Ramadan starts with dates, just as the Prophet Mohammed did.
Before looking for any other kind of food, in Ramadan we always reach for the dates first," adds shopper Nasser al-Ali.
Islam's Prophet Mohammed is said to have broken each fast with dates and a glass of milk.
Date prices increase during Ramadan, and traders import large quantities of dates, mostly from Saudi Arabia, during the holy month.
Truck driver Abdullah Ali explains: "The work increases in Ramadan because people consume more dates during this month. Before, fresh dates were unavailable during Ramadan, so people used to freeze them then sell them during Ramadan. People consume more dates in Ramadan, so the prices of fresh and frozen dates rise during Ramadan."
Ramadan, a month in the Muslim lunar calendar, falls at different times of the Western calendar, and so does not always coincide with the date-harvesting season in late summer. This year, Ramadan began with the arrival of fresh dates to Gulf markets.
Dates hold a special place in the Arab Gulf diet, as local residents believe the fruit is a gift from God to people in their part of the world. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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