Cairo - With food stalls, shopping booths and live entertainment, Jakartans are celebrating the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
"It`s great that we can break the fast outdoors like this," Dyah, a resident of the old historic district of Sensen, told the Jakarta Post on Sunday, September 7.
Everyday, thousands of people flock to the Lapangan Banteng area at the heart of Jakarta to enjoy a two-week carnival organized by the Central Jakarta administration.
Like many others Dyah, 43, brought her son and her husband to the festival to enjoy breaking their fast together outdoors.
Around 120 food stalls are set around the area to greet guests who wish to break their Ramadan fast with traditional food and snacks.
The festival also features various traditional performances and Islamic nasheed groups.
Yunita, a resident of Central Jakarta`s Pasar Baru area, came with her family.
Shortly before the time for iftar, she began touring the food stalls looking for her favorite snacks.
"It`s a nice place to hang out with family or friends during Ramadan."
Ramadan, the ninth month of Muslim calendar, began last Monday in Indonesia, the world`s most populous Muslim nation with a population of 220 million.
During Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain during daylight hours from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.
Dual Benefit
Various stalls also offer the guests different goods, from clothes to accessories, plants and even pets.
"There are a lot of stalls here offering a variety of things," notes Dyah.
"My son really enjoys browsing the pet stalls."
The festival is the first such event held by the Central Jakarta administration.
Theresia Gayatri, an event executive, said the event is not only celebrating the holy fasting month but also providing low-cost goods to Jakartans.
Indonesia has seen a spike in food costs in the lead-up to Ramadan, putting pressure on cash-strapped families.
Prices for essentials such as eggs, meat and cooking oil have surged the week before Ramadan.
Gayatri expected more than 500,000 Jakartans to visit the festival, which is open daily from 4 to 10 pm.
"A festival like this is very rare in the city."
Source: http://www.islamonline.net (September 07, 2008)