Fatima lives in Dinan, one of the most attractive walled cities not only in Brittany but also in France.
She runs her “sandwicherie” shop Sucré Salé (yes, you would have guessed she sells sandwiches…) in Rue de l’Apport, a lovely street lined with half-timbered houses in the heart of the medieval city.
From dawn to evening she prepares, cooks, bakes and sells not only sandwiches, salads, Danish pastries…but also couscous, tajines (Moroccan lamb or chicken stew) and many Arabic specialties as she was born in Morroco.
And this month of August is a challenging one as it is Ramadan!
When I asked her how working in the Food and Beverage industry would affect her following of her religion, preparing and selling food all day long, having to deal with the appetizing smell of freshly baked bread and cakes or the irresistible fragrance of fresh coffee beans, seeing people eating and drinking while she had to tame an empty stomach, she just replied that her Faith would keep her going…
But she also added with a big grin that food, drink, perfume, make-up… and big cuddles… were forbidden during the day and that once the sun set life could resume to normal… or more…
In fact she said that like most Muslims she would get up around 3am to catch up on all the sacrifices they are more than willing to do during the day to respect their religious beliefs.
This year Ramadan is falling in one of the hottest months of the year and drinking water has been allowed if needed.
Fatima explained to me that if Muslims had to stop Ramadan during the official month they still could catch up during the year as long as they were respecting all the rules of total abstinence from dawn to sunset.
Read more:
A different mosque each day of Ramadan
What’s for lunch in a French-Indonesian family home?
Nine books about living abroad
Here in Turkey Ramadan seems very difficult this year, because of the long days and the heat. I don’t know if drinking water has been allowed here, but have the impression there aren’t as many people observing the fast as there have been in previous years.
I know that a lot of people had difficulty sticking to the rules this year because of the heat…but at least if they miss a day they can catch it any time during the year!