There are more than one billion Muslims in the world, and many of them are fasting from sunrise to sunset this month as an act of faith and reverence. This is the time of year Muslims believe that the prophet Mohammad first revealed the holy book, the Quran, to the people.

But not everything is somber. There are celebrations to break the fast every night; street markets come alive and in many homes, there are as many kinds of foods spread on the iftar table as you can imagine. Traditionally, the fast is first broken by eating dates, (see Dates: The Sticky History of a Sweet Fruit,) but after that, almost anything goes, from special soup to nuts and elaborate breads.

Here are some of our