CAIRO: Daily News Egypt has gone out in the streets of Cairo to see how the first day of Ramadan is going for different people around the city. Working hours usually change during Ramadan, starting later in the morning and finishing earlier in the afternoon, but for some working hours stay more or less the same. "Due to the nature of my work, most of the time I'm not home at iftar time, so I stop at any of the mawaed rahman [tents offering free iftar as a type of charity], and have iftar. Many people are around me so the spirit of Ramadan is still there, explained Medhat Abdel Monsef, a microbus driver. Traffic officers also have similar working hours, but without the luxury of going to mawaed rahman. "It is really difficult during Ramadan especially in this heat and sometimes you have to stand under the scorching sun, said a young traffic officer in his 20s, who preferred to remain anonymous. "But when it comes to iftar, there are a lot of kind people out there. Right before the iftar people would drop by meals, juices, dates and water so food is usually not an issue, he added. Buildings' security guards and porters also have iftar while on the job, just like Morsi Awad, a porter in Heliopolis. "I usually take my vacation and go back to the countryside towards the end of Ramadan and thats when I have iftar with my family, but as for the rest of the month, I have iftar with other porters and security guards in the street. We've been working alongside each other for years now so I feel that they are family. Other people, voluntarily do not have Iftar with their families and they spend it on the street either distributing iftar meals or preparing food for mawaed rahman and waiting to serve it. "Helping out in mawaed rahman usually takes half an hour before the Maghrib and half and hour afterwards, so by the time I get home most likely I would find my family still on the dining table. And even if I don't find them and eat alone I sit with them afterwards so I still get the Ramadan spirit at home with my family and with the people on the street, said Mohamed Abdel Latif, a banker.
