Iftar with an Emirati Family

Catherine and Zsofia show off their henna painting from the iftar

Iftar is one of the most important gatherings for Emiratis and for Muslims in general. Every evening of Ramadan, at the sound of the sunset call to prayer, the family sits down together to break their fast. To be welcomed into a family's house for iftar shows trust and generosity. Two of our incoming Spring 2019 students got to have this precious experience when they were invited to an iftar dinner at the house of Maha Al Shehhi, a local Emirati woman. Zsofia Slamani from Simon Fraser University, Canada, and Catherine Kachman from the University of Alabama, USA, enjoyed an authentic Emirati iftar with Maha and her family complete with mouth-watering food, henna painting, and most importantly, traditional Emirati hospitality and generosity.

Dr. Linda Angell, the Director of IXO, fixed Zsofia and Catherine up with Maha, who is a friend of IXO and an AUS College of Engineering alumna. Maha often hosts expats like IXO students in her Ajman home, and Zsofia and Catherine got in touch with her to coordinate to attend her family's iftar on Tuesday, May 21.

Zsofia and Catherine were nervous about going to the iftar at first. "We went to Spinneys and got flowers and a fruit plate as gifts," Catherine said. "We then took our taxi there, and we were very nervous. When we walked in, we were blown away by how nice their house was and how welcoming they were. From the moment we arrived, they were so sweet and nice; they made us comfortable. And then, more of [Maha's] family started arriving, and it felt like we were at a genuine family gathering, like it was any normal iftar with their whole family."

Catherine noted how this family gathering differed from her family gatherings back home in the USA. "We live so far away from each other in the USA; my nuclear family is in Maryland, but my aunts and uncles are in Florida, Michigan, Nebraska - all over the USA. So we never had the more ‘casual’ iftars together because everyone’s so far away. In contrast, when we went to the iftar at Maha's house, everyone knew what was going on in each other’s lives and they were much closer with their cousins and aunts. I also think they were much more comfortable and very honest with each other because they see each other so often. It was nice just to see their family and how open they were. Aside from the two of us, there were also journalists there who had no real relation with the family, and the family were just as nice and generous with us as they were with them. They made everyone feel very part of the family."

"For people they've never met before, they treated us exceptionally amazing," Zsofia agreed. "For me, the best part of the iftar was the overall atmosphere, being so welcomed, being taken in like it’s nobody’s business." Catherine added that she enjoyed just being around the family even after the dinner was over: "I really enjoyed afterwards, when we were all sitting on the couch, drinking chai, tea, or coffee, and just hanging out," she said. "They did our henna, and we just talked about the strangest things. Maha's mother put on an Emirati TV show that only comes on during Ramadan, and we talked about different cultures and how it is in the USA and Canada. I really enjoyed doing that because it felt like a nice hangout session."

So how was the dinner itself? "The food was amazing," Catherine said. "They had so much food, these big bowls just stuffed with chicken and rice, and it was so, so good." The girls described the delicious harees they had, which is a traditional Emirati food made of wheat and lamb. "They also gave us freshly-squeezed kiwi juice, which was amazing!" Zsofia said. Catherine enthusiastically agreed, saying, "I know, I know, it was so good!" They also recounted eating little samosas, salads, mandi-style chicken with rice, and a stew with lamb, carrots, onions, and eggplant. "I had the best dates I've ever had in my life," Catherine said. "I put this date in my mouth and it tasted like silk!" she laughed. "I was like, is this actually a date right now?"

The iftar spread

I asked the girls if they felt like they became friends with the family, and they passionately spoke over each other to agree. "Oh yeah," Catherine said. "Not just friends. We cried when we left!" Zsofia agreed, saying, "They told us, 'You don’t just have friends in the UAE, you have a family, you have a home for when you want to come back,' and you could tell they were 100% genuine about it." Catherine piped up: "[Maha's] mother was the world's sweetest person. Both Maha and her mother were so kind and opened up their home and held nothing back. During the taxi ride back, we were so emotional. I couldn't believe we were just now meeting these people," she said. Zsofia agreed, exclaiming, "We've been in the country for four months!" Catherine continued, "Exactly! Imagine if we had met them our first week. I feel like we would've been hanging out with them every week. And then, just considering that we had just met them, how kind they were was just shocking."

Maha and her family made sure to give the girls a good view of genuine Emirati culture throughout their visit. "[Maha's mother] said something along the lines of how as Emiratis, their duty is to introduce people to their culture and way of life," Zsofia said. "She heard that some people had been in the UAE for lots of years and they've never even met an Emirati family. She said, 'As Emiratis, we're the minority, and people are coming to our country, so it's our job to teach them about our way of living.' So they see it as a responsibility, and they were more than willing and happy to do everything they did for us."

For more about Catherine and Zsofia's iftar at Maha Al Shehhi's house, check out this (Arabic) news article by 24Media.


Suzana Saoud
IXO Publicity Specialist