A storm, a beauty contest with a difference and Ramadan don’ts

What the Arabic tweeters are talking about this week, as compiled by Sarah Khamis.

What Arabic language tweeters are talking about this week. Kacper Pempel / Reuters
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It’s been a stormy week with Cyclone Ashobaa full steam ahead, lots of discussion about the most beautiful Arab country of them all and the one thing that people really don’t want to have happen during Ramadan.

Ashobaa churns

The name means “unlucky” – it was picked by Sri Lanka, one of the eight countries on a World Meteorological panel that chooses the names of cyclones over the northern Indian Ocean.

People tweeted prayers, advice and information about the tropical storm churning towards Oman. But some like @ZaidMuscat said it would be an event to remember: “Time for me to get me a fat memory card for the camera.”

Mahmood @XxFerrari97xX expressed surprise at how “massive” it was and tweeted a photo of the view from his window as cloudy but calm, the calm before the storm. The embassy of the Netherlands in Oman @NLinOman warned of “possible #flash floods and rough seas”.

@anthonywx and @MIB_India offered status updates on the progress of the storm and @u4__4, @om3215and Saad Al Brake @saadalbrake joined with many others who shared their apprehension about the havoc Ashobaa may wreak on the UAE and Oman.

Arab beauties

It’s that time of year again, when families like to travel, but where in the Arab world would be most scenic?

@sal0107829 thought it was the Kaaba in Mecca, where pilgrims gather to perform the Haj.

@shadi_jaber suggested Jordan for reasons entirely unconnected with natural beauty. It wins for its “safety and kind people”.

Mohammed @_mkhaili suggested Abu Dhabi, shared several photos of the capital, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and other exceptional buildings.

Haitham @haithammu89 and @Jawadbaqaeen picked Palestine, Mohammed @M7Alnaqbi suggested Salalah in southern Oman on the strength of its beautiful autumn and @yazan_nayrab tweeted a photo of Antakya “the Syrian city that is under Turkish control” commending its beauty.

@JijiChirdent used a photo of the lovely Hama garden in the heart of the Algerian capital to make the case for Algiers. “It’s ranked third in the world for the number of rare plants it has,” he urged.

Alsaad @alsaadal sarcastically suggested Bani Yas in Abu Dhabi, adding that naysayers were “welcome to visit and we will try convince them”.

And then there was the overly clever wordsmith bent on having the last word. The most beautiful part of the Arab world has to be “anywhere that I’m not”.

Ramadan routines

The Abu Dhabi-based International Centre for Astronomy has said that the first day of Ramadan will fall on June 18, which had the Twitterverse pondering absolute no-nos for the holy month.

No last minute visitors, tweeted @jawaher__505 and @hona_91, “people ringing bell just as we sit down to break the fast, asking to have iftar with us”.

No waste, argued @q8_30_30. “Making huge amounts of food and then throwing it away is not on”.

No selfies with the subject of your charity, tweeted @atzhayax. “Don’t take photos while you give the poor water, iftar or money. They have their dignity too. Keep your good deeds between you and Allah”.

No cook-fests all day, ever day, said @roojj3, sprinkling her tweet liberally with sad emoticons. “Don’t have guests over every day and stay in the kitchen the whole day”.

No photographs of samosa-making sessions, said Abdullah @A_AlFai9al, addressing the ladies especially. He tweeted a photo of a man making a samosa, adding: “We don’t need more of these”.

No sinning, or at least as many good deeds as possible this whole month, said Khaled @khald_alrashed.

No lazing around, exhorted @Alooraby_f and @SaudAlthukair because “fasting doesn’t mean sleeping the whole day. You have to pray on time”.

Sarah Khamis is The National’s social media editor

salalawi@thenational.ae

On Twitter: @SarahKhamisUAE