Ramadan: iftar around the world

Ramadan: iftar around the world

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During Islam's holy month of Ramadan, believers abstaining from food and drink during daylight hours, break their fast with the iftar evening meal.

From inside a coal mine in Bosnia and Herzegovina to a military training camp in Damascus, Reuters photographers have produced images capturing the daily practice just after sunset in different countries during Ramadan, which ends this week.

Fisherman Haji Husain, 65, said: "For me Ramadan is to fast and do good deeds, it keeps you away from Satan."

. Karachi, Pakistan. Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

The meals vary from fruits and sweet drink on a fishing boat on the outskirts of Karachi to a cooked prison meal in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as a beach picnic in Morocco.

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Slideshow

Syrian refugee Ahmet Ilevi, 35, stands in front of the container, where he has lived with his wife and five children since 2013, at the Harran refugee camp in Sanliurfa province, Turkey.
. Sanliurfa, TURKEY. Reuters/Umit Bektas

Syrian refugee Ahmet Ilevi, 35, stands in front of the container, where he has lived with his wife and five children since 2013, at the Harran refugee camp in Sanliurfa province, Turkey.

Ahmet Ilevi was a police officer in Homs before he fled Syria and arrived in Turkey as a refugee with his family. "Ramadan means peace for us. The only thing that breaks this peace is the thought of relatives left behind in Syria. I miss them every day. Ramadan in my homeland was more beautiful than this," he said. The family break their fast with a meal of chicken with potatoes and salad.
. Sanliurfa, TURKEY. Reuters/Umit Bektas

Ahmet Ilevi was a police officer in Homs before he fled Syria and arrived in Turkey as a refugee with his family. "Ramadan means peace for us. The only thing that breaks this peace is the thought of relatives left behind in Syria. I miss them every day. Ramadan in my homeland was more beautiful than this," he said. The family break their fast with a meal of chicken with potatoes and salad.

Anwaar Hussain, 35, his coworkers and employer eat iftar inside a shop in the old quarters of Delhi.
. Delhi, INDIA. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

Anwaar Hussain, 35, his coworkers and employer eat iftar inside a shop in the old quarters of Delhi.

Hussain is a mechanic who repairs second hand electric motors and water pumps. He said that Ramadan is about self improvement and kindness, and that one should stay away from all evil. Hussain broke fast with samosa, fried snacks, fruit salad and dates.
. Delhi, INDIA. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

Hussain is a mechanic who repairs second hand electric motors and water pumps. He said that Ramadan is about self improvement and kindness, and that one should stay away from all evil. Hussain broke fast with samosa, fried snacks, fruit salad and dates.

Syrian army recruits eat their iftar meal, at a guard post inside a military training camp in Damascus.
. Damascus, SYRIA. Reuters/Omar Sanadiki

Syrian army recruits eat their iftar meal, at a guard post inside a military training camp in Damascus.

Syrian army recruit eats his iftar meal.
. Damascus, SYRIA. Reuters/Omar Sanadiki

Syrian army recruit eats his iftar meal.

Filipino tricycle drivers eat iftar as they break their fast in Taguig, Metro Manila.
. Manila, Philippines. Reuters/Erik De Castro

Filipino tricycle drivers eat iftar as they break their fast in Taguig, Metro Manila.

Filipino tricycle drivers' iftar meal was packets of fish, chicken, rice and rice cakes.
. Manila, Philippines. Reuters/Erik De Castro

Filipino tricycle drivers' iftar meal was packets of fish, chicken, rice and rice cakes.

Bosnian prisoners eat iftar inside the country's biggest prison in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
. Zenica, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. Reuters/Dado Ruvic

Bosnian prisoners eat iftar inside the country's biggest prison in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Food which prisoners had for iftar is seen on a table.
. Zenica, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. Reuters/Dado Ruvic

Food which prisoners had for iftar is seen on a table.

Coal miners eat iftar deep inside the Haljinici coal mine, in Kakanj, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
. Kakanj, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. Reuters/Dado Ruvic

Coal miners eat iftar deep inside the Haljinici coal mine, in Kakanj, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The miners' iftar meal was veal, tomatoes and brown bread.
. Kakanj, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. Reuters/Dado Ruvic

The miners' iftar meal was veal, tomatoes and brown bread.

Members of the Palestinian National Security Forces eat iftar in the dining hall at a base in the West Bank of Jericho.
. Jerusalem, Israel. Reuters/Ammar Awad

Members of the Palestinian National Security Forces eat iftar in the dining hall at a base in the West Bank of Jericho.

The Palestinian National Security Forces' iftar meal was chicken, rice and bread.
. Jerusalem, Israel. Reuters/Ammar Awad

The Palestinian National Security Forces' iftar meal was chicken, rice and bread.

Shir Alam (left), 31, prepares shorba, an Afghan soup made from beef or lamb, which is served with bread and potatoes, before iftar.
. Kabul, AFGHANISTAN. Reuters/Omar Sobhani

Shir Alam (left), 31, prepares shorba, an Afghan soup made from beef or lamb, which is served with bread and potatoes, before iftar.

The food Shir Alam will break his fast with, is laid out.
. Kabul, AFGHANISTAN. Reuters/Omar Sobhani

The food Shir Alam will break his fast with, is laid out.

Bangladeshi workers prepare to eat iftar at The Leo dormitory in Singapore.
. Singapore, SINGAPORE. Reuters/Edgar Su

Bangladeshi workers prepare to eat iftar at The Leo dormitory in Singapore.

Food prepared by Bangladeshi workers for iftar is seen at the dormitory.
. Singapore, SINGAPORE. Reuters/Edgar Su

Food prepared by Bangladeshi workers for iftar is seen at the dormitory.

Civil defence members eat iftar in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town, in Idlib province, Syria.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

Civil defence members eat iftar in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town, in Idlib province, Syria.

The civil defence members' iftar meal was watermelon and cheese.
. Idlib, Syria. Reuters/Khalil Ashawi

The civil defence members' iftar meal was watermelon and cheese.

People eat iftar at Ain Diab beach in Casablanca, Morocco.
. Casablanca, Morocco. Reuters/Youssef Boudlal

People eat iftar at Ain Diab beach in Casablanca, Morocco.

Pastries, eggs and pizza are seen on a table.
. Casablanca, Morocco. Reuters/Youssef Boudlal

Pastries, eggs and pizza are seen on a table.

Sanaa (2nd right), eats iftar with her children, while sitting with relatives next to a clothes shop advert in Beirut. Sanaa, 23, mother of three children, begs on Hamra street in Beirut. The family fled Syria two years ago, after her husband went missing.
. Beirut, LEBANON. Reuters/Alia Haju

Sanaa (2nd right), eats iftar with her children, while sitting with relatives next to a clothes shop advert in Beirut. Sanaa, 23, mother of three children, begs on Hamra street in Beirut. The family fled Syria two years ago, after her husband went missing.

The family's iftar meal is lentil soup with chicken and rice, which Sanaa received from passers-by. "Ramadan is about kindness and giving. I mostly like the decorations," she said.
. Beirut, LEBANON. Reuters/Alia Haju

The family's iftar meal is lentil soup with chicken and rice, which Sanaa received from passers-by. "Ramadan is about kindness and giving. I mostly like the decorations," she said.

A family waits to break their fast outside their shelter in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.
. Khan Younis, Palestinian Territories. Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

A family waits to break their fast outside their shelter in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Flatbreads, vegetables and pickles are seen, as a family waits to break their fast.
. Khan Younis, Palestinian Territories. Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Flatbreads, vegetables and pickles are seen, as a family waits to break their fast.

Fishermen from Suriname and Indonesia sit down to eat iftar aboard the Nisshin Maru No 7 fishing trawler, as it is docked along the Suriname River at Livorno, Suriname.
. Livorno, SURINAME. Reuters/Ranu Abhelakh

Fishermen from Suriname and Indonesia sit down to eat iftar aboard the Nisshin Maru No 7 fishing trawler, as it is docked along the Suriname River at Livorno, Suriname.

Soup, fried fermented soya, sambel, chicken with vegetables , potato curry and fried fish in soy sauce are prepared for iftar for the fishermen.
. Livorno, SURINAME. Reuters/Ranu Abhelakh

Soup, fried fermented soya, sambel, chicken with vegetables , potato curry and fried fish in soy sauce are prepared for iftar for the fishermen.

Yasmine Diane (3rd left), 22, eats iftar with her parents at their house in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Diane is a law student at Felix Houphouet Boigny university and lives with her ​​parents.
. Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Reuters/Thierry Gouegnon

Yasmine Diane (3rd left), 22, eats iftar with her parents at their house in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Diane is a law student at Felix Houphouet Boigny university and lives with her ​​parents.

"Ramadan is very important for all Muslims because it is a great time to be a little closer to God through constant prayer and acts of sharing," said Diane.
. Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Reuters/Thierry Gouegnon

"Ramadan is very important for all Muslims because it is a great time to be a little closer to God through constant prayer and acts of sharing," said Diane.

Mohammed, 27, a labourer at a brick factory, eats iftar as he breaks his fast with co-workers at a brick-making factory on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. "For me Ramadan is a test and this is God's will. We should obey God's commands so that we are successful," Mohammed said.
. Islamabad, Pakistan. Reuters/Faisal Mahmood

Mohammed, 27, a labourer at a brick factory, eats iftar as he breaks his fast with co-workers at a brick-making factory on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. "For me Ramadan is a test and this is God's will. We should obey God's commands so that we are successful," Mohammed said.

The brick factory workers' iftar meal was fruits and vegetables.
. Islamabad, Pakistan. Reuters/Faisal Mahmood

The brick factory workers' iftar meal was fruits and vegetables.

Jihad Nuwaja, a Palestinian Bedouin man, eats iftar together with his family in their tent, in the West Bank village of Susiya, near Hebron.
. Susiya, Palestinian Territories. Reuters/Ammar Awad

Jihad Nuwaja, a Palestinian Bedouin man, eats iftar together with his family in their tent, in the West Bank village of Susiya, near Hebron.

The Nuwaja family's iftar meal was rice and meat.
. Susiya, Palestinian Territories. Reuters/Ammar Awad

The Nuwaja family's iftar meal was rice and meat.

The Ballote brothers sit to have iftar at sunset outside their zlabiyas (traditional sweet) shop in Larabaa, on the outskirts of Algiers.
. Larabaa, Algeria. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

The Ballote brothers sit to have iftar at sunset outside their zlabiyas (traditional sweet) shop in Larabaa, on the outskirts of Algiers.

Ballote brothers broke their fast with a soup called chorba, chicken tagine, meat and traditional bread sent by their mother.
. Larabaa, Algeria. Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Ballote brothers broke their fast with a soup called chorba, chicken tagine, meat and traditional bread sent by their mother.