This is the first time for me to have iftar the Moroccan way, we are used to in Amman to have tamer first then we have soup and then the main dish, i came back from school at 8:15pm almost 15 min late to iftar, i came in everyone waiting for me sat on the table had a bowl of soup, then i was looking at the table and scanning the area around me for the rest of the food, all i saw on the table,
tamer (dates)VV
something called sufoof (ingredients: roasted almonds, with some Arabic gum, and some roasted sesame seeds, etc i don’t know what is the rest)VV
mshabakyeh ( it tastes like asabi3 zainab in Amman)VV
and a cup of tea,VV
i started eating that stuff, it is gooood then i was like: hmmmmmm is that it for tonight.
i looked at my uncle who was surprised too, because he is a newly wed actually not newly wed its been a year almost, but its the first Ramadan for us with his Moroccan wife. both of us was surprised we looked at her and we asked at the same time is that it for tonight???
she started laughing: we will eat the main dish in 30 min or so.
me and my uncle: are you trying to make us suffer !!! hehehehehe.
she was why you guys don’t eat like that in Jordan , start with the soup, then sweets and a cup of tea, then wait for 30 minutes or an hour and then comeback and eat 3asha.
both of us hungry and tired: no in Jordan we eat the dates, the soup, the main dish, then sit a little bit and then have sweets and tea or coffee.
she: hmmmm so you guys want to eat the 3asha now. (this is after we already ate the sweets and we got halfway full)
us: yes please we are starving lol.
and we had the main dish, this was a great experience to be in to know and experience another culture without knowing what is going on, or what is coming next.
which i came to the conclusion that the moroccan people they eat iftar first which is the tamer, sweets, tea, and then after that everyone go and do his own stuff, then come back and have 3asha (diner).
oh ya i forgot to add with the sweet and all that stuff in the picture we had boiled eggs cut in half each and had some cumin and salt on top of them.
Filed under: interesting stuff
[QUOTE]UTSA Today
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Alumnus donates 285-year-old Koran to UTSA Library
By Janice Odom
Director of Development – Foundation and Organization Relations
(March 15, 2007)–William (Bill) Mastoris Jr., who in retirement has earned three degrees from UTSA, has donated to the UTSA Library a 285-year-old Koran that he purchased in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1970 while serving in the U.S. Army.
The beautiful, illuminated Arabic manuscript was written in Lahore, India, in 1722, and features crushed lapis lazuli pounded into the leather of the cover. Lapis lazuli is a deep blue, opaque gemstone that was highly prized by the Egyptian pharaohs and is still very popular today. Arabic is read from right to left, and the front of an Arabic book is considered the back of a book in Western cultures.
Mastoris kept the book in a bank vault for many years before donating it to UTSA, where it is in the John Peace Library Special Collections on the 1604 Campus.
“The Koran is a wonderful addition to our collection for several reasons,” said Gerrianne Schaad, head of UTSA archives and special collections. “It is a lovely example of an illuminated book. The colors are vibrant and the geometric designs are intriguing. It is worth the effort of students and faculty studying graphic design to come and see it.
“The Koran is also an example of the cultural diversity to be found at UTSA. Most of the materials in Special Collections focus on the history of Texas; however, Texas itself is made up of different groups from many places, over several centuries, and encompassing different religious and cultural traditions,” Schaad noted.
Mastoris, a 1950 graduate of the United States Military Academy with a degree in engineering, retired with the rank of colonel in 1983 after a 38-year career in the Army. After settling in San Antonio, he entered UTSA, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in finance in 1989, humanities in 1991 and geography in 1993.
A member of the Sombrilla Society, the special organization for friends who have included UTSA in their estate plans, Mastoris also has endowed three scholarships at the university — the Minnie P. Mastoris Endowed Scholarship in geography, the William V. Mastoris Endowed Scholarship in humanities and the William Mastoris Jr. Endowed Business Scholarship.[/QUOTE]
i thought this is neat went and took some pics of it, they made me wear white gloves so that the acids on my hands wont destroy the pages.
