JEDDAH, 19 September 2007 — Shopping is at its peak, with shopping malls open until late hours of the night and hyper and super markets working around the clock during the holy month of Ramadan.

“Shopping is more than just buying food during Ramadan,” Khaled Marzouki, a Yemeni expatriate said while shopping at the Serafi Mega Mall on Tahlia Street. “It is a reflection that characterizes the family in particular. I have every member of my family with me and while we adults do our shopping, children have their own fun and entertainment,” he said.

This is the month in which food and food products are sold the maximum compared to any other month of the year. “Seventy percent of our sales are of food items,” said a supervisor at Al Raya supermarket on Prince Majed Road.

Ramadan shopping usually starts after the noon prayer. At that time, shops start opening and sellers start displaying their products, especially near the doorsteps of various mosques. “We do not shop before noon because most of the shops are closed,” said Sulaiman Hassan, a bank employee.

Shoppers usually start buying heavy items that are required for dinner, such as meat, chicken, fish and vegetables. “I always need to buy all these so that I can cook early,” says Haneefa, a housewife.

After buying these things, she says, “I make samosa at home, though this and many other fast-breaking items can be bought on the roadside. I like to make my own fast-breaking varieties every day.”

Fruit, dates and sweets are very much in demand. Dates are the most important item for breakfast and they are the shopper’s first priority.

The shopping timeframe and items in Ramadan reflect a social and religious culture.

Ramadan around the city has been always very special than any other month of the year. Schools, colleges, private and public sectors have changed their working hours to suit the fasting month.

Shopping malls, however, remain the main attraction during the month. They display Islamic culture and decorate them with lightings, offering discounts. Most of the malls in Jeddah have been attracting a large number of night shoppers.

Streets around the city are crowded in the evenings with shoppers rushing to buy food items on display that includes samosas, kababs and several other snack varieties.

“We don’t expect nonfood items to sell now,” a supervisor at Al-Watani supermarket said. “For the first three weeks, it is only food, food and food that sells. When the Eid Al-Fitr nears, people start buying gifts for their relatives and friends,” he said.

Many supermarkets and stores are offering attractive gifts for the shoppers. Parked cars in front of the supermarkets are meant to be given away as prizes.

“I like to go shopping with my friends during Ramadan, because it is very different from other days,” says Muhammad Hafiz, a student at King Abdul Aziz University. “This is the month that brings we all friends closer than ever.”

A tour around the shopping malls shows that most of the outlets are decorated with latest dresses and some fancy products. “We usually expect to have good sales during the month,” a salesman at a textile shop at Bani Malek said. “We keenly wait for the holy month as this is the time of the year that we make brisk business,” he said.

This is the month when many Saudi households change their carpets. “Our sales peak during this month as homes are newly decorated for the Eid Al-Fitr,” an executive at National Carpets Factory at the Jeddah Industrial City, said.

Furniture and furnishings, electronic goods, perfumes, toiletries are among the other items that are also selling.

Gold markets continue to glitter despite the rise in prices. “It has not lost its everlasting charm,” says World Gold Council’s Jeddah based consultant Bisher Diab. Due to a 30 percent rise in demand for gold and jewelry, the ongoing “Jeddah the Gate of Gold” festival has been extended through Ramadan, Eid Al-Fitr, he said.

“We expect a good turnover, especially in the second half of the holy month when people start buying gold and jewelry,” an executive at Taiba Gold and Jewelry Co., said.

Hotels and restaurants are also getting huge orders for outdoor catering during the month. Most of the starred hotels are decorated to attract guests. They all have made special arrangements to host guests for corporate parties and groups for iftar and sahur.