Eid

In November there is the Muslim equivalent (in terms of holiday celebration) to Xmas. The date of is dependent on the phases of the moon and so was only finalised a few days before it happened. Eid commemorates the Bible story of Abraham being willing, on God's orderes, to sacrifice his son, but at the last minute God replaced Abraham's son with an animal. This is commerorated by people slaughtering goats and sheep. The animals (at hugely inflated prices) are bought and then slaughtered at home in the garden (which is not great when all your neighbours are doing it) and then a third of the meat is donated to the poor. So you see large groups or the poor and beggars, with plastic bags, roaming around all the neighbourhoods looking for the latest kill to take home to their family. Although this to me was bloody, messy, noisy, and smelly the city itself looked great. All the mosques, and many shops and homes, were strung with a huge number of lights. A major mosque near me was swathed in lights so that it looked like a golden waterfall. It is a time or family, sharing, and celebration.