Iftar in Naif

A while ago I went on a food tour in Dubai with Frying Pan Adventures.  The owner, Arva, took us around some of the original areas (aka less Western areas) of Dubai, to introduce and expand our knowledge of Middle Eastern cuisine.  We ate food from all over; Palestine, Syria, Iran, Egypt and the UAE.  It was a great and educational experience and I would recommend any of her food tours to everyone!  Arva is a tiny, little, loud, and outgoing thing and she was just recently on "Bizarre Foods" with Andrew Zimmerman.  Anyways, I follow frying pan adventures on Instagram to see what is going on with the successes of the company and to see interesting food found from around this region.  Recently, I saw a post about an upcoming food/photography tour in conjunction with Gulf Photo Plus, exploring Ramadan Iftars in an area of town that few Westerners venture to called, Naif...  as part of their #unseenDXB series.

A little refresher course.... Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar and during this month Muslim men and women fast from sunrise to sunset.  Dubai changes during this month.....things get much quieter during the days, but after sunset, well that's a different story.  Fasting during Ramadan means different things to different people.  Some believe that through this sacrifice they become closer to God, others think that fasting makes them better understand the plight of those less fortunate than themselves, while others believe that it teaches you patience above all else.  Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars in the Islamic faith and I think people's dedication to their beliefs during this month is fascinating and remarkable.  The other four are pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj), giving a portion of your yearly savings to the poor, five daily prayers and believing that there is one true God and that Mohammad is his messenger.  Islam also teaches about Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jesus and so on, but that Mohammad is the true messenger of God.  Now I don't claim to be an expert and I am not nearly as knowledgeable about any religion as I should be, but similarities and parallels between the major world religions are crazy to me...... It's all becomes messed up when oppressive cultures and governments get involved.... But I digress....

Back to the point of this blog.  I signed up to go on a Photo Walk where we would explore Naïf, an area of town close to the Gold and Spice souks.  We visited different mosques and food stands in anticipation of Iftar.  First, we visited the oldest known mosque in Dubai which was over 100 year old.  We spoke about lighting and camera settings (which mostly went over my head) while getting used to our surroundings and anticipating what was to come.

 

 

 

 

Iftar is the breaking of your fast after sunset during Ramadan.  Once the call to prayer is over, your fast can be broken and then you can proceed to mosque to do your evening prayers.  Every culture has an item that they break their fast with, but most traditionally it is done with a date.  Men start heading to mosques well before the call to prayer and some even hours before actual Iftar. The community at these mosques was fantastic. Friendships were evident, respect was apparent and the anticipation was palpable.

 

This was our first stop:

 

And our Second stop:

 

 

We then ended up making our way through the streets of Naif to a mosque that supplied meals to hundreds and hundreds of people.  Iftars at these mosques are supplied by the family that sponsors that mosque or other individuals.  We arrived right before the call to prayer and the stillness was off-putting.  These streets are usually busy....they have a heart beat that makes Dubai what it is to me.  Now it was calm and quiet like a deep, slow exhale.  Some men sat with their hands upward facing in prayers, others unpeeled their oranges in anticipation of the first bite, while still others spoke quietly to those sitting around them.

 

 

 Then the call to prayer rang out...... There were two things that surprised me about this Iftar, the "real man's Iftar"..... First, it was quick!  As a non Muslim, an Iftar to me consists of a typical Dubai all you can eat buffet at a five star hotel.  To these men it was substance, fuel, and life after a long day's work.  The second thing that got me was their thirst!  I have thought about the act of fasting but I had never contemplated what it would look like to drink something after working in 100+ temps without food or water for over 14 hours...... I wish I had taken more pictures of this moment but literally lids were tossed off and liquid was poured down throats.... Chugged and guzzled was more like it.  I got lost in the moment for a few minutes just looking around and taking it all in with my own eyes versus with the lens of my camera and before you knew it, the Iftar was over.  Men were dispersing and all signs of this event were vanishing from the sidewalks of Naif.

 

 

We finished our photo tour with a walk through the streets of Naif and had dinner at an Afghani restaurant were we enjoyed lamb, chicken, rice, Dahl, "trotter" soup, one of my favorite breads and the most amazing mantu dumplings.

 

 

 

After seeing the pictures of the other people on this photo tour I feel extremely amateur... I can humbly say my pictures pale in comparison to theirs... but this was my first ever real experience with photography, so kudos to me ;0) .  I mean, I have had an SLR camera for a while, but I haven't used it like I should and usually only ever use the auto setting.  Also, I have never asked a stranger if I can take their picture for my own use.  Y'all know me and know I am not in any way afraid to talk to a stranger, but I felt like this was a very personal moment for some of these men and I did not want to interrupt.  I spoke with many of them and shared countless smiles when language barriers would get in our way.  However, looking back at these pictures I wish I would have pushed in more and taken more chances.  The opportunities were there, but I didn't want to overstep, which I realize now would have been very very hard to do.  Almost all of these men were willing and wanting to share their stories with us and some even seeking out our camera lenses!  Guess I'll just have to grab my camera and go out exploring with the rest of the time I have in Dubai!

This was an amazing experience that I feel very fortunate to have had.  Like I told our photographer guide, Alex, I feel as if this opened a door to a moment I would not feel comfortable entering on my own for the first time.  Now that this door has been opened, I am excited to explore and see what it will bring!

To wrap up this serious post, here is a joke.....
Thinking of going on a diet? Well I hear there is a new one out there.... Try one month of Mu-Slim Fast.

Booooo, I know, it was awful....

Until later...

 

Axel Edward

 

 

Lets just clear something up before we get started... No, we are not hipsters... Yes, we named our son Axel... No, it is not because of Guns and Roses!  Axel Edward was my Swedish Great Grandfather on my mother's side.  I never met him but he was much loved by my grandmother and my mother.  His son, my great Uncle was also Axel Edward although he went by Ed... and his son, my mother cousin, is also Axel Edward but goes by Eddie.  Edward is also the middle name of my Grandfather on my dads side, Walter Edward.  As well as Daddy Jon himself, Jonathan Edward.   Basically his name covers every side of the whole fam damily!  Axel Edward as been at the top of our boy list since we found out we were preggos with Leighton back in 2010.  Luckily we had a boy this go round because Jon and I could not agree on a girls name to save our lives!

 

I'll share sweet baby boys birth story for prosperity’s sake... but if you want to skip it his newborn photos are posted below.  Well, having a baby doesn't always go as planned and our newest addition is the perfect example of that!  Here is the story of his unexpected, but should have been expected, entry into this world!

This kid had been breech the entire pregnancy. Everyone kept saying, “just give it time, he will turn."  Well at 37 weeks he hadn't turned and my doctor said, let's talk about your options.  I told her, #1 I don't what a c section since I have already ruined my lady bits having two normal deliveries so why ruin my stomach now.… and #2 I don't want to do anything to potentially harm my child.  She told me that I had contradicted myself, so a C section was planned. 

My due date was the 17th (I thought it was the 15th) and I tried to talk my doctor into a cesarean on May 5th... Can you imagine the cute but racist kids birthday parties with piñatas, tacos, mini mustaches attached to straws, tres leches cake with margaritas and cervezas for the parents?!  How awesome, right?!  Well, my doctor didn't agree and would only come down to the 6th and refused the 5th, because it was too early.... Augh! So after some back and forth we agreed on a scheduled C section on May 10th.  5/10/15.... Still a pretty cool potential birthday date!

Everything was going fine, life was busy, some girlfriends surprised me with a baby shower brunch and a new baby swing....amazing!  At this brunch we talked about babies and birth and I mentioned how I was nervous about going into labor because I had never actually "gone into labor.”  I had been induced with both girls and had only felt contractions with Leighton.  One friend said, you are crazy and you will know you are in labor. 

Skip ahead to the end of that week.... May 7th and I am at a 4th birthday party with the girls. My friends are asking how I am holding up and I reply with, fine but I feel a little "off.”  I didn't know what exactly was off, but my body just didn't feel normal.  As I was driving home from the party and talking to Jon on the phone, I had my first big contraction of this story.  I breathed through it and kept on heading home.  I probably had one full-on contraction every hour until bedtime.  I texted my friend, Rhonda, and she insisted that I call the nurses’ line at the hospital, so I obliged.  I explained the situation to the nurse in the phone and she suggested I come in only because the baby was breech.  Better safe than sorry, right?!  So at midnight I put my bag in the car and drove myself to hospital..... Yes, I drove myself to Axel's birth!  It's not Jon's fault as I insisted that the baby wasn't coming.... and our helper, Gina, was off that night and the next day and we didn't want to bother our "on-call friends" since it was so late at night in a situation that we weren't sure was even happening!

I got to the hospital a little after midnight and a midwife hooked me up to the monitoring machine for an hour.  It appeared that I was having contractions although they weren't "too strong" and were very irregular.  However, they did an ultrasound and baby boy was still breech so they went ahead and admitted me.  I then had to walk to the ER and check myself in and come back to my room after doing so.  On the way back to labor and delivery after checking in, I had a super strong contraction and I should have known then that this show was on the road.  I got back to the room about 1:30 and after another strong contraction and getting checked, it turns out I was 3 cm dilated.  I texted Jon that he might want to wake up our friends and have them come down so he could head to the hospital.  Jon made it to the hospital around 3-3:30.   Around 4:00 the nurses decided to unhook me from the machines and let me get some rest (funny joke) and to use the restroom.  As I was peeing I had a ton of pressure and thought, shit I am going to be one of these ladies that has a baby on the toilet!  Of course I didn't have the baby on the toilet and made it back to the bed.  The midwife said, push the button if your contractions are more than 10 minutes apart and then she left. 

A few minutes later I had a small contraction and only a few minutes passed before the next one.  Jon insisted that I push the button, but I told him the contractions weren’t strong enough.  After another one he got up and pushed the damn button himself.  The midwife came in and I asked her to check my progress..... She said that she needed a "medical reason" to check my cervix, so I calmly responded with, “I am telling you to check and that is reason enough!” 

Fifteen minutes later she came back and checked me, looked at me very seriously and said, "Do you feel pressure?" When I said yes, she left the room without a word!  A minute later the head midwife entered the room with two nurses that started to set up the room for delivery.  The boss then proceeded to go elbow deep into my lady bits to see if the baby had turned head down or not..... If there was ever a time in my life I wanted to punch someone in the face, this was it.  Oh my god!!! As she was getting to know my insides better, the midwife just kept saying, "yeah, I'm about 99.9% sure he has flipped. Yep, I think he has flipped (now she was beyond violating me) um, maybe 99% sure... I think". Jesus help me.... !

The younger midwife then walked over to me and said, "you are about to have this baby." I then asked when I was going to get my epidural..... She slightly smiled and said it was too late to get one.  I laughed directly in her face and told her to call the on-call anesthesiologist and I would cross my legs until he arrived.  That's when she handed me the gas and air (aka laughing gas) and showed me how to use it. I looked at Jon and almost started crying and said, "This can NOT be happening.... FUCK ME!" Sadly it was happening!  Literally 5-10 minutes later my doctor walking into the room, we shared a few words and then I had the end all be all of contractions which caused my water to break... I closed my eyes and didn't open them until it was all over!  All I remember is my doctor yelling at the midwifes and insisting on gloves, feeling like I was about to break Jon's hand because I was squeezing it so hard, and the glorious gas and air mask that muffled my yells of pain.....

 

Three minutes later Axel entered the world fast, healthy and head first! Just like that it was over..... I guess my body decided it was okay to let go as soon as I saw my doctor. 

Axel Edward was born on May 8th, 2015 at 5 something in the morning.... he was 21 inches long (I think) and 7.2 pounds (maybe).  At the time of this post I couldn't find the paperwork that lists his stats...  I promise to enter them correctly into his baby book.... whenever I get around to buying it! poor third kid!

I never planned for it to happen this way and I totally and openly judge other moms who choose not to have an epidural.  It is 2015.... Not 1815.... Use modern medicine to your advantage ladies!  Well, now I am part of the natural birth club.   I will say although it truly sucked, I survived to tell the story(or maybe a month later I have just blocked it all out)!  I cannot imagine going through that pain for 30 minutes, let alone hours.... But three minutes was totally doable and I will wear that natural birth medal with pride!  We do get a medal right? I was going to hang it proudly next to my marathon medal.... please tell me I get something.... right?  anyone... bueller..... bueller.... nothing, only a healthy child, damn it!

So what have I learned from this whole process?  You have to be your own advocate and listen to your body!!!! No one knows your body like you do (and apparently I don't listen to mine).  I knew I had fast labors, I knew the last two times my body went from 2 cm to fully dilated in about an hour and that was with being induced.  I knew during the last two deliveries my contractions were never "strong" (like 50-70 on the machine when most ladies are 100+ in active labor).  So, I should have known to be my own advocate and insist on an epidural when I was at 3cm. I should have been my own advocate and insisted they call my doctor at the 3cm mark.  I trusted the nurses and midwives too much  and took their opinions into account at my own expense!  And even though I felt like I was clearly explaining my body's reaction to labor, I should have been more forceful in conveying that to the staff.  Jon claims that I am just too nice in these situations and don't want to inconvenience anyone..…Like my leg could be broken and I would still offer to take a friend’s kid on a bike ride, because I had previously agreed to do so.  On the other hand, I just like to think I have a high threshold for pain. The reality is probably somewhere in the middle.

 

Thank god everything went smoothly, Axel was born healthy, and this story has a happy ending! I still can't believe we have three kids.... I feel like Jon and I are still kids hanging out and partying in college.  Three freaking kids, wow.... How did this happen?! Yes, I know how it "happened" all you wise crackers out there (aka the Cumberworth's)!

 

I'll leave y'all with some of the photos from little buddy's photo shoot....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, those pictures of the three kids all together look adorable and everything appears to be natural and happy.  However, the reality was that Corby was screaming in between timeouts, Leighton was not listening to our prompting and the room was probably 90 degrees so Axel was comfortable.  Got to love Family photo shoots! 

 

Until Later...