were served for the iftar—meats, birds and fish, custards and pastries, and for the last course, a pyramid-shaped heap of pilaf. According to Ottoman customs, sweets were served before salty foods, and stews were served before custards. After the meal they were attended by "a very pretty old massaljhe, a type of storyteller who attended ladies' social functions to provide amusement and entertainment for the guests. The guests were offered cups of Turkish coffee and the massaljhe was smoking pipes of "scented weed". The father and sons of the family joined the guests for a coffee and smoke, and according to custom, brought gifts of nuts, sweetmeats and cakes for the women of the harem. Around the world Afghanistan In Afghanistan, iftar usually includes the traditional dates, shorwa (soup), kebabs, du piyaza (meat stewed in an onion-based sauce), manto (seasoned, minced meat wrapped in pasta), kabuli palaw (rice with lentils, raisins, carrots, and lamb), shorm beray, bolani (fried or baked flat bread with a vegetable filling), and rice, as well as other dishes. Afghans also have an extensive range of sweet dishes and desserts. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, a wide variety of foods is prepared to break the fast at Maghrib time. Some of the common iftar items from Bangladeshi cuisine include piyaju (made of lentil paste, chopped onions and green chillies, like falafel), beguni (made of thin slices of eggplant dipped in a thin batter of gram flour), jilapi, muri, haleem, dates, samosas, dal puri (a type of lentil-based savoury pastry), chola (cooked Bengal gram ), kebab, mughlai porota (stuffed porota with minced meat, eggs and spices), variety of pitha, aloo chop, singara, ghugni, amerti, bundia, nimki, Pakora, khaja, batasa, khabar tula, Bengali sweets, Roasted chickpeas and different types of fruits such as watermelon, apple, banana, papaya, pear, mango and pineapple. Bengalis break their fast with all their friends and family and eat together in a banquet with their array of food however savoury items are eaten before sweet. Drinks such as lemon shorbot and yoghurt shorbot (made of yoghurt, water, sugar and rooh afza) as well as borhani and gurer shorbot (jaggery shorbot) are common on iftar tables across the country. People like to have iftar at home with all family members, and iftar parties are also arranged by mosques. People often distribute iftar in mosques for the people praying to eat, believing it is a good deed. After