During the month of Ramadan, which begins today and continues through August 30th, from dawn to dusk observant Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex in order to purify themselves, learn humility, pray and concentrate on Allah's teachings.

Throughout this ninth month of the Islamic calendar, at sunset, the family will gather to end the fast with iftar - a communal meal that often starts with the consumption of a date, as the Prophet Muhammad was believed to have done. Dishes vary according to regional and familial traditions and tastes.
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Women in the West Bank town of Nablus are preparing to open a cookery school to teach Palestinian specialties to foodie tourists.

The school will be part of a cultural and social center, called Bait Al Karama, and will be the first women-led cookery school in the Palestinian Territories, according to its organizers.

It has already joined the Slow Food movement, the international association set up to combat fast food culture and concerned with organic, locally-sourced food.

Read Hungry for adventure? Head to West Bank cookery school and get recipes for Knafeh and Makloubet Zaher below.
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Read Food staples starting to run out in Egypt and North African turmoil spurred by soaring food prices

Nothing says Philly grub more than the cheesesteak. And now they’ll be available in the Middle East – Bahrain to be exact.

The Philly cheesesteak has been around the City of Brotherly Love for some 80 years. Tony Luke’s, the iconic Philadelphia sandwich shop on the city’s South Side, is celebrating its touching down in Riffa with a grand opening on Dec. 12.

More locations are expected to open over the next few months in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The opening in Bahrain is the first of 60 cheesesteak shops planned for the Middle East and North Africa — all indoors, and all halal.
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