Another Ramadan note

Several nights we have awoken to a kind of town crier, walking along the streets beating a drum, alerting the neighborhood that it was time to eat something before sunrise. Apparently he is dressed in traditional Arab garb. The tone of his chant is quite lovely and touching somehow--it’s like time-to-get-up-and-see-what Santa-has-brought-for-you! One of Tom’s colleagues (Canadian) told us last year in her neighborhood she heard this call every single night of Ramadan, at about 3:30 am. After Ramadan the man came door to door asking for tips for the service. She was definitely not of a mind to tip him, however.