Iftar around the world: six cities, six ways to break the fast

Travelling during Ramadan is usually treated as something to work around. It is closer to the opposite: the evenings are the best part of the day, the food is better than at any other time of year, and the cities are quieter in the afternoon when it is hottest anyway.

Istanbul

The Sultanahmet area fills up before sunset with municipal iftar tents feeding thousands. It is free, it is chaotic, and it is worth doing once. The quieter version is a neighbourhood restaurant in Fatih where the whole street breaks fast at the same moment.

Marrakech

Harira, dates, chebakia and then a long pause before the real food arrives. The Jemaa el-Fnaa changes character entirely in Ramadan: quiet through the afternoon, then full until two in the morning.

The table looks different everywhere and the moment feels the same everywhere.

Kuala Lumpur

The Ramadan bazaars are the best street food in the city for a month, and they start around four in the afternoon. Go hungry and go early — the good stalls sell out.

Sarajevo

Bosnian iftar is a family affair and often a public one, with restaurants laying long tables. The city's cafés stay open late and the atmosphere in Baščaršija after Maghrib is the best in the Balkans.

Dubai

The most organized: hotel tents, cannon fire at sunset, and iftar as a formal occasion. Also the easiest if you want structure and air conditioning.

Granada

A small Muslim community, a growing one, and iftar in the Albaicín with the Alhambra lit up above you. This is the most atmospheric of the six and the least predictable — ask locally where it is happening that evening.

Why Ramadan travel works better than people expect

The day is slower, which suits a hot country. Nothing important closes; opening hours shift later rather than shutting down.

Sights are quieter in the afternoon, which is exactly when you would rather not be outside.

You eat better in Ramadan than at any other time of year. There is no version of travelling where that is a downside.