Kuwaitis in Lebanon torn between returning home or staying for Ramadan

Kuwaiti tourists spending their summer vacation in Lebanon are torn between returning home to spend Ramadan with family and friends, or staying to spend the holy month in the country which many of consider their second home. One Kuwaiti holidaymaker said that nothing is quite the same as spending Ramadan back home, revealing that he plans to return to Kuwait before the start of the holy month. Despite the great weather in Lebanon at the moment, I don't plan to miss the experience of spending the holy month back home like we've got used to doing since an early age", said citizen Mohammad Badr who owns an apartment in the town of Hammana town in the Mount Lebanon Governorate. Other Kuwaiti vacationers, however, don't see the need to cut their vacations short especially with the opportunity to experience Ramadan traditions in a country other than their own. "It doesn't hurt to stay and experience the cultural, religious and social traditions of Lebanon during Ramadan," said citizen Mohammad Al-Najjar who plans to stay for a week during the holy month at a hotel in downtown Beirut. Another Kuwaiti vacationer, Hanaan Al-Mez'el, said that her family, like many of the other Kuwaiti families staying in a compound in Bhamdoun, 23 km west of Beirut, plan to spend the entire holy month in Lebanon and return home after the Eid Al-Fitr holidays. Ramadan traditions in Lebanon include a time-honored custom of gathering with family and friends to walk beside the beach on the last day before the holy month, after which the group will enjoy various kinds of food before starting the fasting season. This custom is similar to a Kuwaiti tradition known as the 'Quraish.'