The Anatomy of a Fast

Fasting for fifteen hours is actually relatively easy, I think, once you get accustomed to the hunger.

Waking up, I think, its the most difficult part. The first sensation you experience is a gnawing, sour hunger. I don't like it.

The hunger subsides within the first two hours, and the middle part of the day is relatively easy. 

The hunger usually recurs around 2:30 pm, and there's no way around it this time. I usually feel really drowsy at this point, but once you stick it out for about an hour, you'll start to feel alive again. 

Everyone starts moving a little slower by now, but spirits are usually up at this point--only a few hours till the salat. 

The final hour usually flies by as we busy ourselves in the kitchen making shourba andsambosik and assembling the rest of the iftar meal. 

As sundown approaches, we turn on MBC, which broadcasts live from Mecca. The scenes of thousands of faithfuls milling around the mosque, which is about 70 kilometers from Jeddah, fill the screen. When the sun sets in Mecca, the muzzein begins the adhan--call to prayer, and cannons are fired to announce the breaking of the fast. Moments later, the adhan sounds from the mosques surrounding our house, and we eagerly partake in dates and laban. 

Many people take the opportunity to gorge themselves during the evening. I have had the opposite reaction--my appetite has decreased a lot. It takes only a little food to fill me up, and, although I enjoy lots of fresh fruit during the evening, I feel no need to eat more than usual. Fasting really breaks the attraction of food. 

(Any of my Muslim friends who read this should let me know if they agree with my observations)

Here is a video of the adhan, so you can hear what it sounds like. I like this one because it has the Arabic and English translations of the words. 

Imagine this x100...Jeddah literally has a mosque every square kilometer--or less.