It’s a familiar scene during daylight hours in Ramadan – deserted streets, empty malls and boarded up cafés. Many expats leave to go on holiday, while the rest of the city dutifully fasts and tries to stay out of the heat. The city is hushed and drowsy, and if you weren’t aware of the fact it was Ramadan, you’d think Abu Dhabi was a ghost town. But all that changes at night, when fasters get a renewed burst of energy – fuelled by rich dishes and sugary fruit juices at Iftar they hit the gyms, the shops and the streets to fit in as much of an ordinary day into the evening as is humanly possible. In other words, whether you’re fasting or not, you’re going to have to radically change your day-to-day habits this month to fit in with the city’s new way of life – and you’ll need to plan ahead. Here’s our guide on what to do differently in the next few weeks.
Avoid the Ramadan traffic
Usual traffic patterns are completely disrupted during the Holy Month, as it seems as though everyone in the city is following a strict timetable – which of course they more or less are. So where possible, avoid travelling at these times or at least leave plenty of time to get to your destination.
• Expect the roads around mosques to be jam-packed just before and after prayer times, which are spread at intervals throughout the day from sunrise to late evening. Daily newspapers will carry the exact timings of the day’s prayers, so keep an eye on these and avoid the roads if possible (unless of course you’re visiting the mosque yourself – in which case leave yourself plenty of time to get there).
• Many offices have shortened working hours during the month and so there’s a big surge in traffic between 2pm and 3pm as people head home for the afternoon.
• Unsurprisingly, just before Iftar the roads get pretty manic. Be extra cautious when driving at this time, as lots of drivers will have been fasting all day and be in a hurry to get
to their meal. Concentration lapses and tempers fray more easily, so the risk of accidents is high.
• Finally, late evening sees many people heading to the malls to shop or to each other’s houses to while away the rest of the night, so the downtown area in particular can get terribly jammed.
Change the way you work
Offices in the public sector as well as many private sector companies reduce their working hours, so both Muslim and non-Muslim employees are able to go home two hours early in recognition of the fast. Rules vary from office to office in other businesses – all Muslim employees have reduced working hours, but some international organisations stay open all day with a skeleton staff of those who are not fasting. What does this mean for your work schedule? Make sure you arrange meetings as early as possible to catch people at their freshest and least hungry. Allow extra time for projects to be completed, factoring in not just the reduced working hours but also the fact that it’s hard for people to turn work around quickly on an empty stomach. And avoid trying to contact people in the afternoon as nine times out of 10 you won’t get very far.
Fit in an after-hours exercise session
During Ramadan it’s more important than ever to get some exercise in – otherwise as the weeks go on and you feast on Iftar buffets night after night, you’ll find yourself growing increasingly sluggish. Many gyms are extending their opening hours in the evenings to give you plenty of time to relax and let your food go down before you work out. Sign up for a month at one of the city’s gyms that are staying open extra-late throughout August. Shangri-La (02 509 8910/8911) has a special Ramadan offer that gives you a single day pass to the health club facilities for Dhs250 – and the facilities are open until midnight. It’s also offering a free month’s membership with every two months booked during the Holy Month. Abu Dhabi Officers Club (02 441 5900) is staying open from 10am-11pm, and Haddin’s Gym (02 403 4200) will be open right the way through from 6am-midnight – so no excuses for not fitting in a session at some point in the day.
Go late-night shopping
Post-Iftar, when it’s still sticky and hot outdoors, the most popular activity for Abu Dhabians is to hit the malls. All of Abu Dhabi’s shopping centres extend their opening times to the wee hours during the Holy Month, so you’ll find the tills ringing until as late as 2am in some places. Of course many of the malls’ cafés reopen just for the evening too, making the malls entertainment hubs for socialising, shopping and watching movies after hours. Canny buyers know this is the best time of year to hit the shops to grab a bargain too, with most chain stores running Ramadan sales. The government has asked a number of major supermarkets to cut the prices of basic and popular foods this Ramadan, however, keep an eye out when shopping iat smaller food stores as some try to raise their prices before and during Ramadan to cash in on the higher demand.
Eat only when the sun goes down
Celebrating with, and abstaining from food is, for many people, the most significant, symbolically loaded aspect of Ramadan. Since fasting lasts from sunrise to sunset, your eating habits (whether you’re a Muslim or not) will inevitably change dramatically. Time Out Abu Dhabi will be telling you everything you need to know over the coming month about fasting, traditional foods, Iftars, Ramadan opening hours and more.
