Orange Blossom Water

Suhour and Iftar are two elements of Ramadan that have great significance to Muslims.

Suhour is an Islamic term referring to the meal consumed early in the morning by Muslims before fasting, before dawn during or outside the Islamic month of Ramadan. The meal is eaten before fajr prayer. Suhour as the morning meal is matched by iftar as the evening meal, during Ramadan, replacing the traditional three meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), although in some places dinner is also consumed after Iftar later during the night. Being the last meal eaten by Muslims before fasting from dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan, suhour is regarded by Islamic traditions as a benefit of the blessings in that it allows the person fasting to avoid the crankiness or the weakness caused by the fast. According to a hadith, The Prophet Muhammad said “take suhour as there is a blessing in it”.

In Syria, Suhuor consists of dishes which are usually served for breakfast in regular days. Makdous Al-Bathenjan, Jebneh (Cheeses), Halaweh Tehiniyeh, Jams (if Ramadan in summer like these days so mainly the jams are: apricot jam, cherry jam, rose petal jam, strawberry jam. And if Ramadan in winter so mainly the jams are: eggplant jam, and pumpkin jam), Honey, Dibs w Tehineh (mixture of grape molasses with tahini), Laban (Yogurt), Labneh (Strained Yogurt), Olives, Cucumber and Tomatoes, and other food such as Foul Mdammas, boiled eggs, fried eggs, Manaqish, and Ma’arouk Ramadan are all suhoor table staples that we’re used to and love. Food is eaten with Arabic flat bread and served with tea.