Ramadan is upon us!

A blessed month for kindness, self-discipline, compassion and understanding the others. Ramadan Mubarak! Let’s have a look at what Ramadan means for us at heart.

Ramadan is considered to be the holiest month in Islam religion. Muslims observing Ramadan (or Ramazan) swing back and forth between fasting and feasting. One of the most remarkable moments in Ramadan is family iftars which is also a significant part of Turkish Ramadan traditions. Family iftars make you feel nostalgic. Actually, the feeling of nostalgia is an essential part of human psychology. Everyone knows that it’s a solid feeling, particularly when you live abroad. Nostalgia makes us feel deeply connected with our inner world indeed. It also makes us feel joyful and integrated with our family and society. So, iftars are dinners we long for almost a year. That’s one of the reasons why we feel joyfully blessed when Ramadan arrives. 

It’s always nice to share the same feelings with our family and loved ones and recall childhood memories. It does not matter wherever we are in the world. It’s the tradition. It’s the unforgettable smell of tarhana soup and pide, the taste of seasoned olives, Medjool dates, homemade stuffed vine leaves or baklava, and the voice of grandparents praying. The iftar tables means a lot in Turkish culture. It’s Ramadan! 

Ramadan is also the best time to have a break in this crazy world. It’s time to slow down and look back at what we have done so far. It’s time for nobleness, humbleness, and kindness. You must have heard the idiom “A cardigan, a bite”. This idiom, which is frequently used in Sufi philosophy, is that it is enough for people to eat enough to fill their stomachs and wear enough clothes to protect them from cold or heat. The rest of the world’s blessings are that there are delusions that can make people forget the creator. It’s the best time to practice this philosophy as well. 

Ramadan is also the best period to change our habits and assess daily life’s complexity and chaos from a different perspective. For example, we sometimes forget to pay attention to our diet during the natural flow of our lives. As a result, we make many mistakes, such as overeating fast-food, consuming loads of snacks and sugar, eating late, or binge-eating to keep up with the daily rush. And that kind of eating habits can impact blood sugar and blood pressure, increase inflammation, and may mean an individual does not eat enough necessary nutrients. Ramadan is the time to consider what we eat.

Fasting from dawn to dusk in Ramadan could leave us exhausted. As we are what we eat, it’s time to get the low down on what foods will give you long-lasting energy. Unfortunately, we sometimes choose to skip the suhoor meal or choose the wrong foods. It’s time to be wise about our suhoor choices which is the key to an easy fast. A balanced suhoor will make us feel energized and help us cope with the feelings of hunger and thirst during the day. Some ingredients like salty items, salty cheese, smoked meats, spicy food or pickles in your suhoor meal might harm your overall wellbeing during the day. It’s best to avoid simple sugars found in white bread, sweets, candy, cake and plain cereal, which can cause a sugar rush and cravings. It’s better to eat nature’s gift to fulfil your health needs. We should choose saturating food like eggs, dried fruits, fruits and vegetables, nuts, yoghurt, beans, lentils, and whole-grain carbohydrates.

It’s time to pray that God’s healing hand may rest upon us and our sisters and brothers suffering for different reasons worldwide. Now sit back and enjoy the festive Ramadan! Happy Ramadan 2022!