Fresh juices
Qamar al-Din (Apricot Drink)
قمر الدين · qamar al-din
Qamar al-Din is a thick, deep-orange apricot drink made by dissolving sheets of dried apricot leather in water — one of the most iconic drinks of the Ramadan table across the Arab world, Morocco included. Sweet, velvety and full of fruit, it is drunk chilled to break the fast, restoring energy and sugar after a long day. Its name, 'moon of the faith', is bound up with the fasting month itself.
- Type
- Apricot leather drink
- Served
- Cold, sometimes warm
- When
- Ramadan, iftar, breaking the fast
- Key flavour
- Sweet apricot, velvety, rich
What Qamar al-Din is
Qamar al-Din is a drink made from apricot leather — sheets of dried, pressed apricot pulp — soaked and dissolved in water into a thick, smooth, intensely apricot-flavoured liquid. Deep orange and almost nectar-like, it sits somewhere between a juice and a light purée, sweet and full-bodied where a fresh juice would be thin.
The very name means 'moon of the faith', tying it tightly to Ramadan, when it is one of the most beloved drinks for breaking the fast. Though best known in the Levant and Egypt, where the apricot leather itself is often made, it is drunk widely across the Arab world including Morocco, arriving as ready-made sheets to be reconstituted at home.
How it's made & served
Sheets or blocks of apricot leather are torn up and soaked in water — warm water speeds it along — until the dried fruit softens and dissolves, then the mixture is stirred, sometimes blended, and strained to a smooth, thick drink. Sugar is added if needed, though the apricot leather is already sweet.
It is usually served well chilled, occasionally perfumed with a little orange blossom water or rosewater, and sometimes garnished with pine nuts or soaked raisins in the more elaborate versions. A thinner mix makes a drink; a thicker one edges towards an apricot pudding, and both appear on the Ramadan table.
In the glass, at a glance
- Apricot leather (dried pressed apricot sheets)
- Water, for soaking and dissolving
- Sugar, if extra sweetness is wanted
- Optional orange blossom water or rosewater
- Optional pine nuts or raisins to garnish
A flavour snapshot of what goes in.
When & where you drink it in Marrakech
Qamar al-Din is overwhelmingly a Ramadan drink, its dried apricot sheets stocked in shops and the souk in the run-up to the fasting month and mixed at home for iftar. On the sunset table it joins dates, harira and the other restoring drinks poured to break the fast.
Outside Ramadan it is much less common, an occasional treat rather than an everyday juice. It belongs to the seasonal drink culture of the fasting month explored in our guides, alongside jallab and tamarind.
Cultural notes
Qamar al-Din is one of the great signature drinks of Ramadan, so closely bound to the month that its very name evokes it. Rich in fruit sugar and easy on an empty stomach, it does exactly what a fast-breaking drink should — restoring energy quickly and comfortingly at sunset — which is why it recurs on tables across the Arab world.
It also shows the shared, cross-border character of the Ramadan table. Like jallab, it is not uniquely Moroccan but part of a wider Arab drink culture that Morocco takes part in, the same beloved apricot drink appearing from Cairo to Marrakech as families gather to break the fast. More in our guides.
Frequently asked questions
What is qamar al-Din?
It is a thick apricot drink made by dissolving sheets of dried apricot leather in water. Sweet, velvety and deep orange, it is one of the most iconic drinks for breaking the Ramadan fast.
What does qamar al-Din mean?
The name means 'moon of the faith', tying the drink closely to Ramadan, the month in which it is most drunk.
Is qamar al-Din drunk outside Ramadan?
Rarely — it is overwhelmingly a Ramadan drink, mixed at home for breaking the fast. Outside the fasting month it is an occasional treat rather than an everyday juice.