As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan wave a warm good bye, I and my friends in faith decided to change environment at least for once. Where can we get a cool place for breaking of the fast with fresh natural air? Well there is no better place than in the natural environment which is free from pollution – both noise and air. For this reason we decided to choose a good spot for it, which is VIDINGSJÖ MOTIONSCENTRUM. The day for the visit was on Sunday, 17th May 2020.

Entrance at the place.

How does the idea came up? Well it was one evening after breaking the fast and having our usual chat that the idea came in and when it was shared in the forum, all of us embraced it and quickly we decided on a date and time. For me when the idea came in, I was quick to accept it without a second though because I am a nature lover which is why I am doing a masters in Outdoor and Sustainability Education and as a matter of fact I missed going outdoors because of the Ramadan and Covid-19 which calls for social distancing and also the fact that currently I am doing my thesis which is taking much of my time.
What happen at the outdoor Iftar? Quite a lot of stuff happened at the place and we arrived at the VIDINGSJÖ MOTIONSCENTRUM we first decided to play some games and as football happened to be a universal game, we decided to play it. The game took quite a short time because we were all fasting and meaning a little energy to exercise. Next, we also used the outdoor park to do different exercises including gliding, climbing, etc.

At the outdoors doing some outdoor games.

After all the games, we decided to take a short trail in the park to enjoy nature and get cool fresh air before the time for iftar arrived.

A short walk to the forest.

While we cooked some foods at home and take it along, we equally grill some meat at the place which was spearheaded by Ibraahim.

Grilling of meat being led by Ibrahiim

Then at exactly 21.29 when the alarm for iftar rang, we descended on our well-prepared foods and ate to our bellies full.

After the foods, there comes the famous Senegambia tea (attaya) which now all of my colleagues enjoy very well. As I was preparing it some friends were also preparing different tea flavors which is important after a day long fast.

Serving them attaya

We enjoyed our attaya and everything in the outdoors. While I am the only outdoor student in the group, it is clear that I am not the only outdoor lover and thanks to the team especially Saad Khan who led us to this lovely and natural place.

Brother Saad serving the fruits.

Do you want to go to the outdoors with the outdoor lovers, let me know and let us plan another one soon…

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Today marks the 21st day of Ramadan which is the month of fasting for the entire muslim ummah (community). As I had already mentioned in my earlier post as to what constitute the month of ramadan, in this article I am going to highlight how the past days have been spent.
It is something that is very desirable to share and care for one another during the month of ramadan apart from fasting. This will also offer you more rewards and here in Sweden also we are indeed trying our best in this component of fasting, i.e sharing and caring. We do this in a very good way by meeting every evening at one corridor of a colleague and break the fast together with our foods prepared by ourselves.

This is very important because apart from having to taste different dishes from different countries and cultures, we also share ideas and discuss issues ranging from religion to living with the realities of COVID-19. Of course we are cognizant of the guidelines set by the Swedish Health Authorities and we are less than 20 anyway. At the beginning we were from four nationalities, but this number has increases to six nationalities now and that means six different dishes because each of us usually come with his meal. We share our foods and sometimes prepare one big meal together. We also pray together when it is time for prayers which unifies us.

A joint meal which was prepared by Ibraahim.

While we are from different nationalities and have different cultures, we are united by the same faith and we also share the same dinning table during the breaking of the fast.
You want to join us for a meal? Just sent me a message or leave a comment and i shall direct you to our meeting point.

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There are many things that one learns and adopts after visiting a foreign country, but there are also certain things that you can export to another country and make it popular within short period of time. For me, the latter is exactly what happened. This article is about my favorite Senegambian tea called ‘’ATTAYA’’.

Different attaya packets.

What is attaya? Attaya is a special tea that connotes more than the actual beverage. On the packet it is usually written as ‘’China Green Tea’’, but this tea is not just tea for us. There are certainly different flavors and different attaya qualities but the process of brewing it is the same. The process involves brewing the tea in a small pot kettele called ‘’barada’’ on a charcoal pot for about 20minutes and putting a lot of sugar then start making it strong and get the thing that makes it nice which are the frothy bubbles.

The pot (barada) used for making attaya with the tumblers.

These bubbles are very desirable when you serve your circle of friends and loved ones, in fact some people will mock your attaya if it is without the bubbles. So, by now I think you understand the essence of the bubbles. Unlike other teas, the cups used for serving attaya are different in that they are smaller, and they are called tumblers. It is these tumblers one uses for making the strong bubbles in the process making it stronger and more concentrated. Also, each brewing yields three pots which are called the first, second and third. The first is usually stronger, more potent and more concentrated, followed by second and the third is lighter. There are many ingredients one can add to the tea leaves, including mint leaves, paste valda, mint, and some roots of certain herbs found in the Gambia. Drinking it every day can make one easily addicted to it as it is said to contain some caffeine.

The first is served in this tiny cups with the frothy bubbles.

When I came to Sweden in August I though my days of drinking attaya are over, or at least until I return to the Gambia, because I thought I will not find it here. After few weeks into Linkoping, I was able to find it at Salams shop which is operated by some Arabians. Since then I managed to have a company here with whom I can drink it with, as attaya is not just tea that you just drink for the sake of drinking but the friends that one drinks it with counts a lot. At first, I introduced it to my friends whom I found here. Umar and Yousif with whom I pray with at the mosque immediately after sunset were, he first group I shared it with.

With my friends, from right Yousif, Umar and Ismail.

Even though Umar is no more here with us but Yousif had become addicted to it I belief. The second one to be introduced to it was a colleague and a friend with whom I shared the same program of study, Devotha Filbert Kombo. After few sessions with her she also seemed to enjoy it well and sometimes she calls me and ask is attaya ready?

Serving second to Devotha and Yousif.

Now after introducing it to many friends, it seems it is gaining prominence as we drink it daily. Now that we are in Ramadan, immediately after breaking the fast, we drink our first round and one of my friends, Habibou have become so much addicted that he always shouts at my name and ask where is attaya!! For now, I am happy that with my attaya I have managed to have a company and our attaya crew have developed a slogan after the fast. Where is attaya Musa!!!

While the Swedes cannot go without Fika, Gambian cannot go without Attaya…

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