Alf Leila We Leila: Ramadan at Westown Hub

We’re about a week into Ramadan and the streets are already overflowing with colourful lanterns and decorations, bakeries filled with konafa and basbousa and other sweet treats, and restaurants with changed up menus for Iftar and sohour. Ramadan is the time for eating like the Tasmanian Devil without being judged, but why not take advantage and go all out?

Inspired by Aladdin and Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves, SODIC's Westown Hub has created an Alf Leila Weh Leila themed atmosphere where you can truly feel the festive vibes of Ramadan. Unfortunately, they don’t have a magic lamp with a genie inside (like Aladdin) to make all your dreams come true– wait, actually... So, they do have a giant magic lamp, smoke and all, but we're pretty skeptical about it having an actual genie. Now, most people either relate to Aladdin or Jasmine (or Jaffar, if we're honest), but we'd rather unleash our inner Abu and climb onto one of the flying carpets decorating the ceiling and take a picture. They actually let you do that; we're not just crazy. 
Taking selfies on a flying carpet and uploading them onto your Instagram is not all you can do; with a live performance by H.O.H band on Friday the 17th of June at 10:30 PM, the Hub will be brimming with the sights, sounds, and flavours of Ramadan. Now you can use your mouthful of foul as an excuse not to sing along because you may or may not have forgotten the lyrics. Then, on Friday the 24th, a surprise live band will grace you with their tunes at 11 PM while you enjoy a picturesque night, walking around and munching on Ramadan treats from the Hub's street vendors. Yes, more dora and zalabya for us! 

We know it's all about the family experience during Ramadan, but sometimes it’s hard keeping up with your children and watching them like a hawk as they run around, likely hyped up on all the konafa sugar. That's probably why, on Fridays, Westown Hub hosts several activities for your little monsters to keep them busy, like decorating their own 2ola, catching flying crescents, or digging up treasures in the sand pit. If you're not too caught up trying to join them and decorate your own 2ola, you can finally take a breather and relax at the Hub's restaurants. We love that Westown Hub has captured the purely Arabian elements of Ramadan that we enjoy all under one space.

Check out their Facebook page here and their Instagram page here.