Thanksgiving and Eid al-Adha

Winding through the backstreets, shop keepers and residents are preparing for Eid al-Adha which commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God, but instead was able to sacrifice a ram (by God's command). By coincidence, this holiday is coinciding with Thanksgiving, in which Americans get together with their families and "sacrifice" a big turkey for the family meal and try to think of others that are less fortunate. During Eid, most Muslim families in Egypt sacrifice a sheep, Goat, cow or some other domestic animal to symbolize this event.

Not only is it a time for families to get together, but also a time to help others. The family eats one-third of their slaughter, another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbors, and the other third is given to the poor as a gift. This weekend the streets will literally run red with blood.

Today two of my students, Engy and Dalia, took me out to enjoy the city. They were so great. I met up with them in front of the entrance to the Faculty of Education. It was the perfect day for sightseeing since most people were at home preparing for the big feast.

We began our tour at Fort Qaitbay. The citadel was built on the site where the ruins of The Lighthouse of Alexandria stood around 880 AD (one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world). It was built in 1477 AD by Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qa'it Bay. It functioned for about 400 years as a coastal defensive edifice.

After that we took a stroll down through sections of Old Alexandria, Engy and Dalia treated me to some gelato at a famous ice cream shop and then I had a glass of ... sugar cane??!! Yes. There was a small shop and they had sugar cane there. They take a stalk of the cane and shove it into a machine that instantly liquefies it. The result is a frothy glass of pure sugar cane to drink. It sort of has a yellowish-greenish color. The taste? Engy and Dalia said it is their favorite drink in the world. As for me, it wasn't bad, but I can't say it is my favorite.

As we walked along the streets, it seemded the slaughtering of the animals for the sacrifice had already begun. There was a random sheep's head lying on the side walk while the butcher was cutting up the rest of the meat in the street. I happened by an entire herd of sheep that were marked for death and managed to snap a picture while the owner of the cache wagged a disapproving finger at me.

Next we went and visited the famous mosque of Abu al-Abbas al Mursi, who was a wealthy Spanish Scholar and Saint. It was built over his tomb around 1775. The tomb became a place of pilgrimage of many Muslims from Egypt and Morocco who passed through Alexandria on their way to and from Mecca. Women who enter mosques have to be completely covered from head to ankles. I forgot to bring something to cover my head ... so they had some old (and stinky) sheets for just such an occasion.

Last, we went over to the beach an took a few pictures playing in the cold surf and sand. It was a really fun afternoon, but my day wasn't quite over. I headed home, took a quick shower and headed over to another American ex-pat's house for a traditional Thanksgiving feast complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, chocolate pie .... the works! Yummm!!!