7 Egyptian Photographers Capture the Spirit of Ramadan in Gorgeous Photos

If you've lived abroad and it so happens to be Ramadan, you would know that it's dull, it's boring and you often have to compensate for the lost festivities during Christmas even though you don't celebrate Christmas! The closest mosque is at least 20 minutes away if you're lucky, the Muslim-owned stores who may or may not put up decorations only exist in a cluster, somewhere far far away from you, and no one really understands why on earth you're fasting in the first place! Perhaps you have your family around you to give you a dose of Ramadan warmth over suhour and iftar. But let's be real, it will never be anything like a Ramadan spent in Egypt where every street is coloured with bright lights and paper decorations, and everyone is a caffeine-deprived zombie in the morning and an untamable hyperactive beast at night. You can hear the mosques from a mile away, and smell food on every street corner. Not to mention the overwhelming number of ma2edat rahman (mercy tables) where the the underprivileged break their fast every single day at sundown in Ramadan.

These traditions have a life of their own in picture, so we asked these extraordinarily talented photographers to capture Ramadan's throbbing heart: Egypt. And the results were simply beautiful and true to the holy month's spirit.  

Photographer: Adel Essam

Photographer: Ahmed Hayman

Photographer: Ahmed Najeeb

Photographer: Ahmed Wafaey

Photographer: Asmaa Gamal

Photographer: Karim El Hayawan

 Photographer: Ahmed Badr