Yemen: The rhythms of Ramadan

Ramadan mornings are strangely muted. When I left Yemen last Friday at 8am, the streets were deserted. Even at midday, the shops are quiet and government ministries are running on empty.

The normal swing of things doesn't really get going til afternoon when workers in the juice bars and restaurants pull back the shutters, string up their bunches of mangoes and start setting out tables and chairs in preparation for the evening meal.

Around 4pm, a scrum forms outside the shops selling fresh samosas (see left). Samosas cost three for 50 riyals (25 cents) – but you got five for the same price last year. Dates and samosas are the first morsels that Yemenis eat at dusk.

By 6pm, the streets are emptying again, as the light dies and people hurry home with their groceries and hot samosas.

Small circles of soldiers wait in the street, squatting round large tin trays piled with food. Everyone is ready for iftar – the evening meal that ends the fast.

The athan (the call to prayer) finally breaks the tension. It's followed by the sound of canon-fire from the military fort on Jebel Nuqum, a mountain peak that towers over the old city of Sana'a.

In darkness, the city explodes. Sana'anis are awake all night, shopping, chewing qat and chatting. The streets are jammed with traffic, the souq stays open til 3am. Carpenters, plumbers and decorators are available for hire throughout the night. You can even get your carpets laid in the small hours before dawn.