Iftar meals for 250,000 in Madinah every day

Generous donors provide iftar meals for 250,000 pilgrims and visitors on average at the Prophets’ Mosque every day in Ramadan.
Families in Madinah compete to offer delicious meals and drinks of different varieties to pilgrims. It has been a tradition for centuries.
Abdul Wahid Al-Hattab, media director of the Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques in Madinah, said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency: “The presidency makes iftar arrangements inside the mosque and in all the squares of the mosque every evening. Its officials spread out the carpets and fill 13,000 Zamzam water dispensers with cool water inside the mosque.”
“The iftar menu consists mainly of dates, coffee, laban, yoghurt and bread. Supervisors make sure that no other food is brought into the mosque,” said Al-Hattab.
The leftovers after iftar are removed and the mosque halls and squares cleaned as quickly as possible so that worshippers can start the Maghreb prayer on time.
In the courtyards, thousands sit in rows and groups, with special sections for women. Sufficient space is left between the rows for pedestrians and wheelchair users to pass. Meat, rice, curries, fruits and juices are served in the squares. Municipal inspectors monitor the supply.
The suppliers of iftar start their work early in the day. While some people make the meals at their homes before noon, others buy them from restaurants. They also make it a point to supply the best varieties of dates.
“We started preparing for the Ramadan iftar two months in advance,” an iftar supplier inside the mosque, Muhammad Baghdadi, said. He said his family has been supplying iftar for generations.
He said water to break the fast is served in copper cups, which are perfumed daily with mastic to provide an aroma to the water. Excellent dates are chosen and served in special dishes, he said.
“Alheesah” is a traditional dish supplied in the mosque during Ramadan, he said. It is prepared with ground dates, hummous, flour, almonds and fat prepared one month in advance.
Most Madinah families consider it an honor to supply iftar at the Prophet’s mosque during Ramadan.
It is a common sight to see old and young handing out food to pilgrims close to the mosque in the afternoons.
“I am deeply impressed by the eagerness of the Madinah people to serve pilgrims with varying dishes including fruits and drinks during Ramadan,” an Algerian Umrah pilgrim Saeedi Abdul Ghani told the Saudi Press Agency.
An Iraqi pilgrim praised the Saudi people and government for making pilgrims feel safe and happy.