As the minutes approached sundown, the crowd grew restless, pressing against the glass display case and shouting their orders to the young men who were quickly filling orders of Ramadan sweet bread. “If you please,” “What is this stuffed with?” and “Take my money!” were among the requests. “Just be patient!” was the response. This scene occurred every evening during Ramadan as Syrians competed for marook, a sweet bread that is consumed during the Muslim month of fasting. As the time for iftar, the breaking of the fast, neared, a day’s worth of hunger combined with the rush to get marook loaves and rush home before the call to prayer from mosque minarets. The tension in the air was evident, but the smell of baked bread, sugar, and chocolate was more pronounced. Marook, a simply sweetened bread sprinkled with sesame seeds, has been a part of Syrian Ramadan traditions for generations. Each year, variations of the bread emerge to meet evolving tastes. Syrians are proud of their rich culinary traditions and have no qualms about allowing them to evolve. Some variations of marook include olives, onions, and parsley. Dubai chocolate marook has even appeared in some shops. The prices differ from bakery to bakery, with individual loaves costing around 4,000 Syrian pounds, less than 50 cents, while larger ones can go up to 45,000 pounds. On the other side of the glass counter, customers ordered their preferred flavors above the noise of the street. Sales of marook are exhausting, with 11,000 large and small loaves made each day. Customers seeking specific flavors may walk away empty-handed. Applications for iftar are changing with the times, but nostalgia for traditional flavors remains. Amidst the flurry of business, the young individuals behind the counter did not always have time to count the currency handed to them by clients, even small purchases require thick stacks of bills. As iftar neared, some customers did not bother waiting for their change. Where’s the hajji? he asked, referring to an older man who had rushed home.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/world/middleeast/syria-ramadan-food-marook.html