Nine in the evening is the late shopping and cinema hour. Screenings, the last fitness classes of the day and the second sitting in most restaurants all fall here, and in a country where a large share of the population finishes work at six, this is the hour the evening actually belongs to.
During Ramadan the character changes completely: the prayers that follow iftar run through the evening, family visiting starts rather than ends around now, and the shops are busier at nine than at any point in daylight.
For households with school-age children it is the boundary — lights out, and an early alarm already set. A countdown to nine in the evening is as often a wind-down prompt as an appointment, and the count resets every twenty-four hours.
Common questions
Why is 9 pm busier during Ramadan?
Because the evening prayers and family visiting follow iftar, so the shops and cafés are fuller at nine than at any daylight hour.
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