"The question I get asked most during Ramadan is if I'm thirsty."

AlcoverTwo splendid tables occupy half of the dining room. Sali and Nadia, who are sisters, have taken care of every detail. Today is the first day of Ramadan And, in addition, two journalists come to the house. Avocado and banana smoothie, tea, harira (which is a soup that has everything except pork, obviously), sweets, empanadas and dates, as is the Muslim tradition. Sali's children, Yassin, eight years old, and Rodayna, ten, look at the table as if they had also gone all day without food, but they are too young to fast. "I tried to do Ramadan, but I turned on the television and on all the channels they were eating... and I got hungry," says the frustrated little boy while the family laughs.

This afternoon in Alcover (Alt Camp) there is the Carnival Parade and superheroes, bees and princesses parade through the streets. But when the time comes, the Muslims leave. They go home, to their uncles' or to their neighbors' and enjoy dinner after the first day of fasting. At Sali and Nadia's house, ten minutes before the hour (the sun sets at 6.50pm today), the rest of the family starts to arrive. Every time the doorbell rings, Sali smiles. They're already arriving. It's possibly the most beautiful moment of Ramadan, when the whole family gets together before eating.

Also at home are Sara, who is the family's grandmother, and Saaida, who is a neighbour who recently arrived from Morocco. "She's been here for six months and still doesn't speak Catalan," explains Sali. One of Nadia's sons, Mohamed, explains that the first time he did Ramadan, when he was 12, he couldn't resist and ate in secret. His brother, Ilias, couldn't hold out the first year either, as he had had enough by four in the afternoon. Now he's 18 and it's not an effort at all; he does, however, keep explaining things to his friends. "The question I get asked most often during Ramadan is whether I'm thirsty," she says. The first time she successfully fasted, aged 13, she was thirsty because it was summer, but she says she just splashed her face with water and that was enough. "I'm also asked if I can chew gum or skip Ramadan if I feel unwell," she explains with a smile. A prayer can be heard from Saaida's mobile phone. It's time. Grandma goes to her room to pray and the rest of the family sits down at the table happily. They start with the dates. It's the first day of the most special month for Muslims.

Half a thousand Catalans

Ramadan commemorates the moment in the year 610 when, according to Muslim tradition, the angel Gabriel appeared to the prophet Mohammed and revealed to him the Koran, the Islamic holy book. For a month, the followers of this religion, some 650,000 in Catalonia, mainly from Maghreb, sub-Saharan Africa and Pakistan, fast and abstain from drinking, smoking or having sexual relations between sunrise and sunset. "We cannot criticise either, it is a sin," says Sali. The aim of this sacrifice is to grow spiritually, to get closer to God. Islam is the second religion with the most followers, after Christianity. "It also helps us to feel first-hand what those who cannot eat suffer, like the people who are suffering from war," says the woman. During this month, Muslims must pray five times and often do so in community. "At night, around eight o'clock, many Muslims come to pray at the mosque," explains Abderramán, a member of the La Pau Islamic Cultural Centre in the Campclar neighbourhood, where there is one of the most important mosques in Tarragona.

During dinner at home, Sali and Nadia's family explain that sometimes it is not easy to follow Ramadan in Catalonia. "It depends a lot on the job," explains Mohamed. Sometimes they have allowed him to change shifts, but other times they have not. In these cases, when the time finally comes to end the fast, he eats a couple of dates that he carries in his pocket and drinks a milkshake. Sali has also had some problems at work: "I worked as a waitress and when everyone stopped to eat, they told me that since I didn't eat, I had to keep working during the half-hour break."

Having had dinner, the teenagers of the house leave again, as today is Saturday and Carnival, and tomorrow they will get up early to be able to eat something before the sun comes up.