There are several websites that have information about Ramadan, including this one:
http://www.whatisramadan.com/ A little excerpt:
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is a time of fasting for the Islamic people. Each day during the month, Muslims all over the world abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, as well as participating in anything that is ill-natured or excessive; from dawn until the sun sets. Fasting is intended to educate the Muslim in spirituality, humility and patience ... Fasting is one of the Five Pillars of the Islam religion, and one of the main types of Islamic worship. Restraint from every day enjoyment and curbing wicked intentions and cravings are considered as an act of compliance and obedience to God, as well as amends for sins, faults, and mistakes.
I still cannot say I have experienced Ramadan, as I did not fast from sun up to sun down for 30 days, or stay up some nights praying throughout. Nor did I partake in Iftar -- large meals that break the fast in the evening and bring family and friends together. There are changes you make to your daily life, however, when you live in a Muslim country that practices Ramadan. (And I should find out if "practices" is the correct word ... )
The exact date of Ramadan is determined 1-2 days beforehand, as it is determined by a visual moon sighting. It is interesting coming from a country where holidays are set far in advance, and then to be in another country where you don't always know until what feels like the last minute, comparatively. Does make travel planning tricky, if not risky, as the date you thought a holiday might be, actually ends up being a day earlier or later. It's all part of the experience!
The work schedule is shortened during Ramadan. This has to do with accommodating the large breakfasts and the even larger evening meals, which can take hours to prepare. And to accommodate the changes in energy when people are not eating or drinking (anything at all) for 15 or 16 hours, depending on the sunrise and the sunset. And there are some nights where people are praying all night. At my work, you had a choice of working 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. or 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The news warns you about driving just before Iftar; to keep in mind that there are folks on the road who are on their way to a meal, who haven't eaten or even had water for over 12 hours and might also be less alert due to less sleep.
There are maybe a handful of restaurants that serve food during the day, and those tend to be take-away (take-out, in the U.S.). I did hear about 2 or 3 restaurants where you could actually eat your meal during the day.
At work, out of respect, several of us covered the windows in our doors with paper. Non-Muslims were able to eat and drink, if done discretely and out of sight. Our cafeteria was closed for Ramadan (employees either take time off, or work at another site during evening hours), so I had stocked up on some bottles of water and then brought in a sandwich each day. I do know of at least one work site that did not allow any food or drink to be consumed, even in private.
While some stores in the malls were open during the day, many were not. Grocery stores seemed to be open for the most part; I imagine that with the large evening meals, that is critical for everyone.
I took advantage of the shorter hours by using our villa compound's gym more. No excuse, when you are getting off work and have a few extra hours in the afternoon. Even then, I carried my water bottle discretely, and if someone else was working out then I drank my water more discretely too (when a female is working out, you don't know if they are an Expat or not, and out of courtesy and respect I'd rather simply not offend if they are Muslim).
Main roads are lit with decor; some signs say Ramadan Kareem, others are different shapes such as a crescent moon. Many of the high rise buildings use more colors than usual. (So many of the high rises add lighting to the buildings, whether as an outline of the building or along the sides.) For example, the Etihad Towers by the Corniche usually have a blue neon outline, but for Ramadan the towers had stretches of primary colors. And the Capital Gate building never fails to catch your attention; it has colors going up in waves on any given evening, but usually in one or two colors. For Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr, there were multiple colors of blue, red, green, purple.
Etihad Towers by day:
Capital Gate building by day (leans further than the tower in Pisa):
(Both images retrieved from internet when I Googled them. FYI -- while the color of the water is spot-on, the greenery really is not. But the point of the photo is the building!)
Ramadan is followed by a holiday called Eid Al Fitr, which results in celebrations, a long weekend for most organizations, and lots of sales in the malls. It is traditional to provide gifts to family and friends (chocolates are popular, I've heard).
A lot of Abu Dhabi residents escape the heat in the summer, so many people were gone during Ramadan. On the flip side, Eid Al Fitr brings in tourists from nearby countries to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and there are many travel packages advertised for Ramadan and Eid.
Our HR office sent out an email giving Expats helpful hints about Ramadan, many of which came from the source that an article in Gulf News printed:
http://gulfnews.com/in-focus/ramadan/ramadan-etiquette-for-expats-in-uae-1.1207702
It includes basic information, as well as do's and don'ts that one should be aware of.
Thought you might enjoy learning a bit more about living in the Middle East / Gulf Region.
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