A Light Lunch
On Wednesday of this week, I had a meeting with a friend and we had arranged to meet in a local cafe for a light lunch.
When we had appointed the time and place for the meeting, we had only consulted our diaries to see when we would both be free … and so we had settled on Wednesday lunchtime.
As for the venue, we had chosen the cafe deliberately because it was close to the office and has a small patio out from with five tables under some trees. Now, I like eating at cafes where it is possible to sit outside and watch the world pass by. It reminds me of holidays in Southern Europe. The restaurant I usually use has a canopy over their patio so there is no problem with being too hot sitting in the sun but, as I said, this particular cafe had trees on it’s patio which provided shade for the tables that are set under them.
When I arrived, I was a few minutes late – one of the less admirable local habits that I have picked up in my fifteen years here – and my friend had already arrived and was sitting at a table on the patio. The table was empty apart from the menu and the usual condiments. The menu was closed and I assumed that he had already looked at it and chosen what he wanted, but I wasn’t sure if he had ordered something and was waiting for it to be delivered to the table, or was waiting for the waitress to come and take his order.
After we greeted each other and I had apologised for being late, I reached for the menu and asked if he had already ordered or not. It was then that he dropped his bombshell. When we had fixed the time for the meeting, he had forgotten one thing … Wednesday was the first day of Ramadan.
Ramadan is the Muslim Holy Month which commemorates the revelation of the Quran. It is marked in a number of ways, the most famous being the obligation on Muslims to undertake the Hajj, a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca and the obligation to fast, sawm – or in Kyrgyz, Orozo.
Now, although most of the Kyrgyz are nominally Muslims, generally they are not very observant. As one commentator put it, their religion tends to “sit lightly on their shoulders”. There are signs that this is changing, however, as more and more Kyrgyz adopt a more outwardly open approach to their culture, traditions and religion.
During the Soviet period there was a very mixed history of the official attitude to religion and the practice of religion. In the early days after the October Revolution and during the Civil War, in an attempt to win over the traditionally Muslim populations of Central Asia and other Muslim regions, there were promises made about being able to practice their religion freely, but these were soon replaced by an official policy of atheism. There were many restrictions applied.
When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1986, the government’s anti-Islamic policy intensified. Later, however, the policy was relaxed For example, the restoration of mosques was allowed and the rise of Islamic self-awareness was tolerated. This had a significant effect on the religious life of the region’s Muslims.
This process has continued following Independence and Islam is playing a more significant and public role in the country. This has led some people in the West to worry about the potential rise of Islamic Militancy in the country. Although this is a distinct possibility, it seems to me likely that this would affect only a small proportion of the population. The easy going nature of the Kyrgyz is more likely to prevail – and for the majority, their religion will continue to “sit lightly on their shoulders.”
All the same, I have seen a difference over the last fifteen years when it comes to observance of Ramadan. When I first came here I was not aware of anyone who kept orozo, who fasted during the month. Maybe I did know people who kept the fast … but there not ostentatious about it and I wasn’t aware of the fact. in the last couple of years, however, I have come across more people who have decided to keep the observance. Once again, they haven’t been ostentatious about the fact – there was nothing obvious, no outward sign that they were doing so, apart from the fact that they didn’t seem to eat lunch … and that is how I discovered that the fact that they were keeping orozo. In some cases the people were devoutly religious, and so their decision came as no surprise. In the other cases, however, it seems to me that, although there was a religious element to their decision, their motivation was just as much a question of returning to their roots and wanting to keep a tradition.
For the record – it is the same when it comes to Orthodox Christians keeping the fast during the lead up to Easter – Lent.
Although the friend with whom I was supposed to be meeting for lunch is local, he is not Kyrgyz. He is of Turkish descent. Now, Turkey is a secular state, but as a people the Turks are also Muslims.
It was as I was reaching for the menu that he told me – not only that it was the first day of Ramadan, but that he had decided that this year he would try to keep the fast. No eating, no drinking, no smoking or any of the devil’s other temptations: stealing, cheating, impure thoughts, idle chat or gossip, games and so forth. He had already eaten early that morning, (along with the rest of the family, he had got up early in the morning and prepared a large meal), and he wouldn’t let anything pass his lips until the evening.
He said that he knew it was going to be difficult for him to maintain the fast for the whole month, especially at beginning … and today was only the first day! … but he thought he would get used to it and be able to last out. Indeed, he said jokingly, he was looking forward to losing a little weight – not that he really needs to.
That, however, put me in a difficult position and gave me a dilemma. How could I eat in front of him when he, himself, would not be eating? and on the other hand, how could we sit and talk in a cafe, occupying a valuable table, and not order anything? Knowing that I am not a Muslim, however, he said that there was no obligation on me to keep sawm and he was to happy to continue our meeting. I could have lunch and he wouldn’t be offended. We came to a compromise and ordered two drinks … one for me, which I drank, and another, a mineral water, for him which would simply sit on the table untouched. We would talk quickly and finish our business … and agree to take a rain check on the meal until later when we could meet in the evening and he could eat.
So, that’s what we did. After a short discussion I called for, and settled, the bill … honour was satisfied all round.
It was a light lunch all right – and for him … it was a very light lunch!
… and a “dry” supper …
As an aside … I “came a cropper” on Friday night as well …
I went out to a small cafe for supper. It also has a patio with tables set out under the trees. It’s a Turkish cafe, authentic in that it is owned and operated by a family of Turks, serves real Turkish dishes and most of the clients are Turkish. There are often men sitting around a table, “shooting the breeze”, drinking little glasses of tea or tiny cups of Turkish coffee and playing Backgammon. The food is good and it is not expensive.
Well, when we walked in there were quite a few customers already, even though it was quite late. We selected a free table, sat down and took the menus. The waiter asked what we would like to drink. I rather fancied an Efes … Turkish beer … it fitted in with the “authentic” Turkish meal that I was looking forward to. However, when I asked for one, a clouded look passed over his face. “I am sorry,” he said, “There is no beer.” Now that does sometimes happen in small cafes that don’t carry much stock, but I was surprised and the mischievous part of me thought to itself: “A Turkish cafe that runs out of Efes???”.
Now, I hadn’t heard what he said properly … and before I could ask, “OK, so what beer do you have?”, he added, “It’s a holiday – Ramadan – so we are not serving alcohol”.
The penny dropped!
The mischievous part of me wanted to say: “… but you opened at 10 am and served people lunch!, if you are keeping sawm you are not supposed to eat whilst the sun is in the sky” … but instead I said:
“No problem, I’ll have chai” – tea.
Bishkek