My First Ramadan: An American ESL Teacher During Islam's Holiest Month

The light is dying from the day and the smell of roasting meat fills the air as smoke wafts past the windows. Inside my class is trying to bend their minds to the intricacies of the English language - specifically comparative versus superlative adjectives. I write example after example on the white board and they respectfully nod and copy but their eyes wander to the darkening of the golden horizon as the sun sets. In the distance, from the broad spread of windows in my classroom you can see artificial lights shining upon the mosques and Galata tower. Gulls flit about in the cool air and a crescent moon - the symbol of Islam - has risen over the Pera region of Istanbul. The clouds take on the reddish-purple hue of a bruise just as the muezzin rises like the melancholy buzzing of an insect from some unseen minaret. The mournful sound soon attracts others and the call to prayer resounds in unison through the city. I turn to my students, who have broken into sheepish smiles. I return their smile with a sympathetic one of my own, and nod to them as they begin to get up and leave the room. The call to prayer is chanted five times per day in Istanbul, but this call is special. It is Ramadan and the call sung daily at sunset signals the end to a day's fasting. My students have been given permission by custom, religion and the administration of English Time Language Schools, to eat and drink once more.