It's 5.30am on Sunday morning October the 2nd 2016.
In Dubai it's the start of the working week and my normal waking time, however the cat doesn't know it's a public holiday to celebrate the Islamic or Hijri New Year and wants to play. I want to go back to sleep but it thought it was ok to keep knocking on the bedroom door until I got up.
The Islamic New Year starts on October 3rd, the calendar is lunar so next year will fall on September
22nd. The Islamic lunar year is 12 days shorter than the Gregorian year. This marks the first day of the holy month of Muharram which is the 2nd holiest month in the Muslim calendar following on from Ramadan.
Over the next 10 days prayers and fasting will feature daily and is said to commemorate when Noah left the ark and God saved Moses from the Egyptians. One of the most popular dishes eaten at this time is Noah's Pudding or Ashure meaning 10th day, which includes 7 ingredients water, grain, pulses, fresh and dried fruit, salt and honey.
