 The fact that apricot season is short has given rise to the common Egyptian Arabic and Palestinian Arabic expression "filmishmish" ("in apricot [season]") or "bukra filmishmish" ("tomorrow in apricot [season]"), generally uttered as a riposte to an unlikely prediction, or as a rash promise to fulfill a request.In Middle Eastern and North African cuisines, apricots are used to make Qamar al-Din ( "Moon of the Religion"), a thick apricot drink that is a popular fixture at Iftar during Ramadan.Qamar al-Din is believed to originate in Damascus, Syria, where the variety of apricots most suitable for the drink was first grown.