KHARTOUM -

When the sun sets and the call to prayer begins in the Sudanese capital, the feelings of Muhammad Abdul-Rasoul appear at their expertly prepared tables on the mattresses in the central Khartoum area.

And well before breakfast, the young woman, who has entered her thirties, has finished arranging her simple workplace, which is inhabited by a number of plastic chairs, and brushes scattered regularly.

The Mashaer table is a mixture of local food and some of the famous foods in the Arab table (Al-Jazeera)

Local food and famous Arabic food

At the same time, before sunset, Mashaer - who works alone without assistants - finished preparing the food, which is a mixture of local (baladi) food and some foods famous in the Arab table.

Next to the food, a number of dew-covered pots of local drinks, "therms" and cups of tea filled with tea and coffee were lined up.

Mashaer, who has been working in food preparation for years, told Al Jazeera Net, behind a concrete bench covered with ceramics, that food is being prepared behind, that the country's economic deterioration has greatly affected its food preparation equipment, up to its income at the end of each day.

stressful day

The feelings of her day begin early, as she moves from the hot suburb of Umbada 14 (which belongs to Omdurman locality) to a market selling vegetables and meat, and gets her supplies of food preparation materials, and then she goes to work in the center of Khartoum.

Mashaer complains about the successive increases in the prices of vegetables, fruits and foodstuffs, which shop owners attribute to the decline in the local currency.

To reduce the cost of transportation, Mashaer is forced to travel using public transport vehicles, which costs her to pay more fare for loading her goods.

The inflation rate in Sudan rose to 263% in the latest reports of the Central Bureau of Statistics, while the price of the local currency fell to about 566 pounds against the dollar in official transactions in banks and commercial banks.

At temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, coinciding with the fasting season in Ramadan, Mashaer works in harsh conditions to prepare food, and says with patience and patience, "sustenance needs to be sought."

Feelings start their day early, heading to a market selling vegetables and meat, to get their supplies (Al-Jazeera)

The most famous Ramadan meals

“Asida” (corn flour-based edamame that is usually mixed with a soup of dried okra) is the most famous Ramadan meal in Sudan, and of course it has a special place on the Mashaer table, in addition to meat meals, beans, and salads.

On the side of drinks, the "sweet and bitter" juice stands out, a drink prepared in a complex way, consisting of corn that is prepared and fermented in a special way, before it is cooked in a process called "Al-Awsa", to come out in the form of flakes mixed with water, and the soaked drink is drunk after filtering.

Mashaer also sells drinks such as orange, lemon and mango juice, and cold hibiscus infusion, in addition to hot drinks, from soup to broth, to tea and coffee.

Mashaer specifically targets journalists for its tables, as it works in an area teeming with newspapers, and contracted with the political daily Al-Sayha to prepare food for its employees throughout the month of Ramadan.

In addition to this contract, Mashaer provides its meals to the rest of the journalists, their guests and those traveling to the central Khartoum area.

The price of a meal, which is enough for one person, with drinks, is about 1,500 Sudanese pounds.

The price of a meal that is sufficient for one person with its drinks is about 1500 Sudanese pounds (Al-Jazeera)

low turnout

Mashaer complains of a great impact on its patrons this Ramadan due to the lack of customers, as a result of the reduced movement of citizens after the increase in the cost of transporting meals, and many of them prefer eating breakfast at home, for fear of doubling their monthly bills.

On the days of protest processions, Mashaer is usually forced to stop its services for security reasons, related to the closure of bridges, and the targeting of demonstrations to the presidential palace near the vicinity of central Khartoum, where most of the newspapers are located.

The head of the news department at Al-Saha newspaper, Muhammad Al-Bashari, told Al-Jazeera Net, that the table of feelings saved them and the daily commute between their homes and the newspaper's headquarters, and the evil of searching for a daily breakfast in an area crowded with government headquarters, which have been closed since four in the afternoon.

As for Magdy Khaled, one of the visitors arriving in the center of Khartoum, he told Al Jazeera Net that the food of feelings reminded him of the meals that his mother prepared in one of the villages of the Nile River.

The long day of feelings ends at 8 pm Sudan time, and she returns to her relatively distant home with full fatigue, but at the same time she feels the taste of being a productive individual amid the bitter economic conditions in the country.