Imagine having to fast where the sun never sets or in icy cold temperatures? Many people around the world end up fasting in some pretty bizarre spots around the world whether its among the snowy caps of the Arctic or the smoldering hot plains of Central Africa. Let’s take a look at some of the weirdest of those places across the globe where people have to face the most unusual fasting conditions.
The Longest
Picture extremely early sunrises and late sunsets, that is exactly what residents of Greenland’s city of Nuuk have to face throughout the holy month. Days in Greenland are very long, we are talking almost 20 hours long, making it the longest fasting duration across the world. By the end of Ramadan, iftar time will be as late as 10 pm. I think we are now a bit more grateful for our own Ramadan hours.
The Shortest
Right now, we are all wondering how everyone is not hopping on a plane this very second and heading off to South Africa’s Johannesburg because during Ramadan, that country has one of the shortest fasting times, only a meagre 12 hours. With their earliest sunset being at 5:45 pm, it makes for the easiest fast that one can experience in 2023.
The Coldest
With temperatures of – 48 degrees Celsius, anyone fasting at Antarctica will probably spend most of their time within a fort of blankets with a lit fire nearby. With their teeth chittering and an ice cloud forming every time they would speak, it’s the kind of fast where their eye will probably be on the clock the entire day, waiting for the highly anticipated sunset.
The Hottest
Sweltering heat, the kind that makes you feel like you’re walking into an oven is how Mali feels right this second. With temperatures of 37 degrees Celsius, we have a feeling that no one will be attempting to leave their houses in Mali and would probably stock up on some ice cubes.
The Loneliest
It’s an unspoken truth but Ramadan is and will always be all about those special and large family gatherings. Without them, Ramadan just isn’t the same and that is exactly how it feels in a country like Bolivia with only 2000 Muslims. With such a scant population, in just one neighborhood you’ll probably have that one Muslim dude, all alone, pushing through his day to get closer to sunset.
After learning about these unusual fasting conditions, I think anyone who does not have to face those circumstances will feel pretty thankful for getting to fast in their own country. It’s not all bad though because in a lot of those countries, exceptions are made to make fasting easier. In some countries were fasting hours exceed 16, residents can actually break their fast at the same time as Saudi Arabia.
