Fewer worshippers are likely to be tempted to break their fast outdoors on the grass at the end of the first day of Ramadan this year.
But this was September 2008, less than a year after the opening of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It was also the first Ramadan celebrated by The National.
Six years ago, Iftar was taken at 6.39 in the evening, and by the end of the Holy Month the day had shortened by a full half an hour.
This year’s Ramadan will be the longest since 1980, falling in what is statistically, the hottest month of the year. The first day will last around 13 hours and 41 minutes. At the Grand Mosque though, Iftar will still be served at sunset, in air-conditioned tents rather than outdoors.
*James Langton
