Middle Eastern cuisine becomes a banquet, with exchanges of invitations between kin and friends, and public banquets held by charities and associations. Cafes and pastry shops are open at night, and a carnival atmosphere prevails in the streets. Many Muslims, following the reported example of Muhammad, break their fast with a date, followed by a variety of dishes. Sweet pastries and puddings are always present on Ramadan nights everywhere. The end of Ramadan is marked by a festival, Id 'al-Fitr, a feast that breaks the fast, during which a great quantity and variety of sweets and pastries are consumed. The other major Muslim
Ramadan tent Ramadan tent A Ramadan tent is a venue erected during the month of Ramadan for people to eat the daily Iftar meal. They are common across the Middle East and can be found anywhere there are communities of Muslims. Ramadan tents provide a place for people to meet with friends and family after the daily fast is broken at sunset. People gather there to eat Iftar, drink tea, and smoke shisha. Ramadan tents are traditionally a family or neighborhood affair in the Middle East. A Jordanian journalist described a typical Ramadan tent thus in 2008: In recent years, restaurants and