With the arrival of Ramadan, small businesses set up food stalls on sidewalks in Riyadh to sell items popular with the Asian communities. — SG photo by Shahid Ali Khan Saudi Gazette RIYADH – Makeshift food stalls set up on sidewalks by small businesses, such as fruit and vegetable shops, grocery stores, restaurants and flour mills have become a common sight here with the advent of Ramadan. The stalls may be a cause of inconvenience to pedestrians in some busy thoroughfares, but the storekeepers have decided to make the most of Ramadan's increased demand for special items sold during the holy month of fasting. This encroachment of the city's pavements is mostly done by expatriate-run businesses. Crates of fruits that are high in demand during Ramadan such as guavas, cherries, bananas, apples, pomegranates, pears, plums and grapes among other items can be seen on sidewalks with shoppers crowding around during the last moments before Iftar (the breaking of the day-long fast). Flour mills in various parts of the city sell special Ramadan items which are in great demand, such as pulses of various types packed in bags and beverages imported from Pakistan or India especially for Ramadan. Near restaurants, vendors set up stalls, some decorated with colorful utensils to attract people to buy hot meals, such as haleem, (a porridge, made with lamb or chicken with wheat or oatmeal), and fried items such as everyone's Ramadan favorite sambosak and chillies dipped in flour among other items which are popular with the Asian community. Falafel, an Arab dish, is also prepared by the Pakistani and Indian communities in Riyadh as a snack during Ramadan. __
