Ramadan has ended. For the past few days, we've been in the middle of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, three days of festivities celebrating the breaking of the fast. Many people compare its significance with that of Christmas in the United States, but it seems to me that a more reasonable comparison (in terms of cultural significance) would be to say that it is like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter rolled up into one, taking the religious significance of Easter, the food of Thanksgiving and the gifts of Christmas and the family focus of all three.

The night before the end of Ramadan, I met up with our friends Tim, Abigail, and a few others for drinks near the main commercial drag downtown. Walking down Talat Harb, Tim and I had to swerve our way through gobs of people buying clothes from all the sales at the shops.

The reason for all of the purchasing was clear when I was out-and-about during the first day of the Eid. Everyone was decked out in their brand new clothes, with little girls toddling around in dresses with frilly lace and the little boys in pressed shirts. Taking with our friend Ahmed later, he said that for some reason this year's Eid was particularly enjoyable and that people had been building in anticipation for the days leading up to the Eid.

Many families go out of town, leaving for the beach towns on the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, or the Sinai Peninsula. Our neighbors were kind enough to offer us a plate of homemade cookies (Cara quickly made some oatmeal cookies to offer in return), as they had the whole family over for a large meal. They invited us over to talk and share a bit of homemade dolma (spiced rice wrapped in grape leaves) and chat with the family.

The Eid is officially over now, but with 6th of October (a national holiday) coming soon, the holiday has effectively been extended, with many people taking off work and Cara's courses cancelled. Not a bad time for Alisha to be visiting, too (she came in on the 2nd).