I attended my first Iftar: dinner after Ramadan fasting hosted by a title company in an apartment party room @ Tysons Corner. Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (Sawm) to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief. I participated the dinner after other people fasting, but I did not fast. To my surprise, the dinner started with an odd number of dates. I also tried the delicious Soup Jo (Cream of Barley Soup).
This reminds me that I accidentally ran into the day of Ashura in Iran back in 2013, which is a major religious commemoration of the martyrdom at Karbala of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. It is marked by Muslims with a voluntary day of fasting. I did not fast, but well fed by my couch-surfing host family in Shriaz, Iran, while three-day of closing all shops and public facilities were not in my trip plan.
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