The sun is setting and the time has come to break the daily fast.
Overlooking the great stretch of pristine beach, the iftar venue beckons with delicacies and shisha to be enjoyed in a friendly, warm, but far from sweltering evening air.
Ramadan has come to the Gold Coast, Australia.
The resort region in the state of Queensland has this year, for the first time, set up a venue for iftar to cater for the increasing number of Middle East travellers who choose to spend summer there.
This year it has proved especially important for spots popular with residents of the GCC, as the holy month has begun in the middle of the northern summer holidays.
"With the holy month of Ramadan falling within this period this year, it has unfortunately had a somewhat negative impact on visitor numbers and duration of stay," says Gordon Price, the international director for Gold Coast Tourism.
"On top of the various services and facilities Gold Coast operators already provide to Muslim visitors, Gold Coast Tourism and Tourism Queensland are from 2010 operating an evening lounge during the holy month of Ramadan to provide visitors with a venue to be able to share iftar with fellow Muslims."
Mr Price says the Gold Coast attracts more than 25,000 visitors from the Middle East each year, mostly between July and September, compared with 12,000 in 2004. The average stay for these visitors is more than 25 days.
But some regional travellers prefer their holidays to be even cooler. UAE travel agents tell of a recent surge of interest in Zurich.
As a result, the Swiss city last year launched a list of "Ramadan friendly" hotels. The luxury Dolder Grand is one of those properties.
"The number of guests from the Gulf region is increasing," says Vanessa Flack, a spokeswoman for the Dolder Grand. "In July this year, 26 per cent of our guests were from the Gulf region."
But at the moment there are just a handful of guests from the region staying at the hotel.
"Our guests from the Middle East, who stayed for around four weeks with us, have now left to go home for Ramadan," says Ms Flack.
Singapore has also been receiving more tourists from the UAE and wider Middle East, and is hoping to keep up this momentum during the holy month.
Singapore's tourism board says there was a 23.2 per cent growth in visitors from the Middle East in the first half of the year compared with the same time last year.
The city-state received more than 66,000 tourists from the region in the first six months of the year and the UAE was the largest contributor with 23,248.
"Our figures indicate that UAE tourists are among the highest-spending travellers in Singapore," says Jason Ong, the Middle East and Africa director for the Singapore Tourism Board. The multibillion-dollar Resorts World Sentosa, launched this year, was helping to drive growth, while the Marina Bay Sands resort that opened in June was also expected to boost tourism, Mr Ong says.
Singapore's tourism board points to the state's large Muslim population to show tourists from the region will be well catered for.
"Singapore will welcome Middle East travellers during Ramadan as hotels provide shuttle services to mosques, as iftars, night markets and street light-ups send a festive buzz through this multi-cultural city," the board says.
@Email:rbundhun@thenational.ae
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: India, chose to bat
India (1st innings): 215-2 (89 ov)
Agarwal 76, Pujara 68 not out; Cummins 2-40
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
RESULT
Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')
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Arcade Fire
(Columbia Records)
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
RESULTS
Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
The specs
Engine: 1.8-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 190hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm from 1,800-5,000rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 6.7L/100km
Price: From Dh111,195
On sale: Now
Sweet Tooth
Creator: Jim Mickle
Starring: Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar, Stefania LaVie Owen
Rating: 2.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder
Power: 101hp
Torque: 135Nm
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Price: From Dh79,900
On sale: Now
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
MEDIEVIL (1998)
Developer: SCE Studio Cambridge
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation, PlayStation 4 and 5
Rating: 3.5/5
SPECS: Polestar 3
Engine: Long-range dual motor with 400V battery
Power: 360kW / 483bhp
Torque: 840Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 628km
0-100km/h: 4.7sec
Top speed: 210kph
Price: From Dh360,000
On sale: September
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now