You hear the darkness before you see it. As the late winter sky pales over Tashkent, the noise of thousands of motorbike engines, bicycle bells, and apartment buzzers mounts to a crescendo.

Those who haven’t ordered in battle their way past the onrushing delivery drivers towards the nearest restaurant. At Xadra, in the city’s Chilonzor district, tables fill rapidly. Dates, walnuts, sweetened milk, and bottles of water await their parched and starved customers. Many eye their watches carefully, waiting for the moment, at precisely 18.17, when they can begin to eat.

Ramadan, or ramazon in Uzbek, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. From dawn until sunset, Muslims must refrain from eating, drinking, and other physical needs, only breaking their fast at sundown with a meal known as iftar.

Though one might imagine a month of fasting would see a lull in activity across Tashkent’s catering sector, on the contrary, Ramadan is a month that is very much about food.

Dates and milk are a traditional fast-breaking snack for starved stomachs; image: Joe Luc Barnes

The not-so-strict fast

While the vast majority of the population are Muslim, Uzbekistan is a secular country, and there are no laws requiring restaurants or bars to close during daylight hours. Nevertheless, “cafes and restaurants are definitely less crowded; they’re at no more than 30 or 40% capacity during the daytime,” said Saodat Umarova, an economic analyst at the Center for Progressive Reforms.

Shavkat, a kebab shop owner, observes a sharp decline in daytime custom. “I’m still open, but it’s certainly a more relaxed pace,” he said, pausing the film on his phone to talk to TCA. While a nearby university provides some business, his regular clients remain committed to their fasts.

When asked if he finds it difficult being around food when he himself is fasting, Shavkat says that he does not mind. “On the first day or two, it is difficult, but you get used to it. This year is not such a difficult year.”

He is referring to the season: in 2025, Ramadan began on March 1 and will end on March 30; the fasting period is a little over 12 hours, and the weather is mild. “When Ramadan falls in summer, you have long days, and it’s forty-degrees [104F], that’s when you really get tested.”

Corporate accommodation

The rhythm of business operations also shifts during the holy month. Oybek Shaykhov, Secretary General of the Uzbekistan-European Association for Economic Cooperation, tells TCA that while the economy doesn’t typically slow down, the nature of business meetings changes.

“Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners are central to the business community, and during Ramadan, these gatherings shift towards Iftar, which is more of a group engagement rather than bilateral discussions,” he said. “Many companies try to ease workloads for employees, particularly if Ramadan falls during the hotter months, to accommodate fasting”

Gulmira, a lawyer at a construction company, echoes this sentiment. “The only real difference is the lunch hour; everyone who is fasting works through it and then gets to go home early for iftar,” she said.

Regional Solemnity

Uzbekistan’s approach to Ramadan varies by region. In Tashkent, the city’s multicultural fabric means that not everyone fasts, leading to a more relaxed atmosphere. In contrast, the more conservative Ferghana Valley observes Ramadan with heightened seriousness.

“The eastern part of Uzbekistan seems to be more sensitive for religious rules and rituals,” said Umarova. “In this society, it’s more customary to fast. Sometimes, even young children might join their parents in fasting. Islam has a special meaning for the valley’s population, which makes people very connected and united; fasting is considered as something that makes your spirit stronger.”

“Happy Holy Month of Ramadan!” – from Coca-Cola; image: Joe Luc Barnes

Creeping Commercialism

While restaurants’ daytime revenues may decline, business booms in the evening hours. Restaurants prepare special iftar menus, and some extend their hours to accommodate the influx of customers after sunset. Traditional Ramadan staples are ordered in especially: according to EastFruit analysts, up to 75% of the annual consumption of dates in Uzbekistan occurs during the holy month.

“People definitely appreciate their food more,” said Umarova, adding that it’s also a time for giving and enjoying food with friends, even when they are far away. “For example, my dad lives on the other side of the city, but I’ve ordered him a delivery for when he breaks his fast this evening. This is not something I do throughout the rest of the year!”

More controversially, the singular daily meal is often viewed as an excuse for lavish feasts. Indeed, under former president Islam Karimov, the government banned “ostentatious feasting” for iftar in 2010, and state employees were ordered not to attend communal dinners during Ramadan in 2013.

In 2016, Uzbekistan’s religious leadership told believers not to celebrate iftar meals, stressing that the feast should be to encourage empathy with the needy rather than an excuse for revelry. Uzbekistan is not alone in overindulging – in Egypt, a reported 60% of food goes to waste during Ramadan.

But cleric and mandarin alike are up against a powerful business lobby. As with religious festivals everywhere, Ramadan has become increasingly commercialized. Brands use it for marketing, recognizing that when people go without food all day, they are more likely to treat themselves in the evening.

Supermarket chain Korzinka gives out a Ramadan calendar along with your shopping, detailing the precise times of sahar and iftar, which drift further apart as the month progresses.

Meanwhile, the assistant at Gavalli Chocolates and Delights, a store selling Turkish baklava and other luxury treats, says that Ramadan is one of their busiest periods.

“We do a lot of extra business off people saying to themselves ‘I’ve earned that extra bit of luxury,’” he said.

Gavalli is not shy of going all out to associate itself with Ramadan. The store has been festooned with enough holy decorations to make a customer claustrophobic.

Gaudy Gavalli; image: Joe Luc Barnes

Festive Season

Adding to the bonanza are two other non-Islamic festivals that take place this month. The first, International Women’s Day on March 8, an historically important day across many former Communist states, sees restaurants booked up weeks in advance. The Embar restaurant in Tashkent’s Intercontinental Hotel is offering a Women’s Day set menu; given the demand, it is making customers pay over a million som ($77) up front for a table.

Later in March is the traditional Central Asian festival Spring festival, Nowruz, the country’s most significant holiday.

“Nowruz means new day, where we celebrate the spring and prospect of good weather,” said Umarova. “We usually have sumalak, which is our traditional food.”

The wheat-based pudding takes twenty-four hours to prepare, but this dish is only part of what is set to be another period of celebration, with festivities set to last at least three days.

And where celebrations take place, commercial opportunities are never far behind.