Eid el Adha

Eid el Adha is one of Islam’s great feasts and is laden with both religious and social significance. Eid’l Adha has the message of steadfast faith and sacrifice for the greater good.

The Feast of Sacrifice is a tribute to the Prophet Abraham for his unwavering obedience to God as exemplified by his readiness to sacrifice his son. The story of Abraham, whom Muslims call Ibrahim, is told both in the Bible and in the Qur'an.
Christianity says the sacrificial son, whom God replaced with a ram, was Isaac; for Muslims it was Ismael.

 

Muslims gather at the mosque at first light to pray together and listen to the sermon.  From first light until dawn, they repeat this prayer:

Allah is the greatest
He is the only God
Allah is the greatest
We are thankful for him

 

The community is encouraged to think about its responsibilities and obligations towards Allah, and good works, kindness, mercy and generosity towards their fellow Muslims and humanity as a whole. At the conclusion of the prayers and sermon, the Muslims embrace and exchange greetings with one other, give gifts to children, and visit one another.

Later on the day of the festival, each family who can afford to, sacrifices a sheep, goat, lamb, cow, or camel which must be slaughtered in the prescribed way. 

The meat is divided is to be shared with relatives, friends and neighbours, the poor.  A wealthy family may sacrifice a second animal for distribution entirely to the poor. It is an important practice of Islam for the community to see that no impoverished person is left without an opportunity to take part in the sacrificial meal during these days.

For the young boys in Rabat, it is an opportunity to build fires in the street  to roast the sheep's head and feet.

 

Slaughter of so many sheep results in an abundance of skins, which do not go to waste...

 

 

The commercial opportunities of the Feast have not escaped the notice of the marketers...

 

 

 ...or of the school.

 

Our mixed grill.

school trip to Arabian Nights

The Canadian division of the school took a trip to the Arabian Nights Country Club and Resort. 

It was a day to relax and enjoy the company of colleagues and students. 

Here is how the day went:

On the 1 hour bus ride the kids were so quiet.

 

Here is a video tour of the patio, pool, stage, and ring for horse and camel rides off to the left.

The day involved:

- chatting on the patio

-  taking posed pictures of each other

-eating...breakfast was traditional fatira bread dipped in strong, salty cheese or honey

These are our dear friends. Mona the school admin person (you've seen her villa) is in pink, Sherein, a fellow English teacher, is in brown, and Dahlia, admin support for the national school principal is in yellow.

-   watching the kids take horseback and buggy rides

-   petting the horses

- watching college kids on stage doing the latest dance moves

-   and the most fun of all, taking a camel ride with my friend Sherein.

As the sun went down, some of us danced on the stage. 

  The lights were turned on giving the place a magical glow. See the lights all over the dome?

House sparrows twittered and flew around  their nest. This video is especially for my bird-loving parents.  

 

Then we travelled home. The kids were the opposite of Canadian kids. On the way home they were all revved up and singing!

 We dropped kids off on our way and tumbled back into our apartment tired but pleased to have been part of something and not tourists.

mosques of Old Cairo

In the heart of Old Cairo is the Citadel; an area with the oldest fortifications, mosques, churches, Roman ruins, the police museum, and a jail.

For this tour we hired a guide with a passion for history.

Michael was excellent. If you visit us in Cairo, we recommend him very highly.

This video clip gives you a panoramic view of part of Cairo. We were standing on the ramparts of the old fortified city. You can hear school kids on a field trip as well as the voice of Michael, our tour guide. At the very end, a colleague from school recognizes "Mr. Peter."

 The fortifications were built by Saladin in 1183 to defend against the Crusaders.

Gamal Abdel Nasser, second President of Egypt was imprisoned here prior to the Egyptian Revolution in 1952.

Obligatory tourist shot  standing in front of Muhammed Ali Mosque.

The Mosque of Muhammed Ali or the Alabaster Mosque was built by Ottoman ruler Muhammad Ali Pasha who took control from the Mamluks in 1805.

Here is the dome of Muhammed Ali Mosque.

 Egyptian military officer cadets visiting the Alabaster Mosque.

At the front of the mosque is an alcove which shows the direction towards Mecca. Muslims need to face Mecca when they pray.

 

 Worshipers washed in the courtyard before

entering the mosque.

We visited the Mosque and Madrassa (school) of Sultan Hassan, a very important site.

It was built in 1363 by the Mamluks, a warrior people who evolved from slaves to rulers. Their military orientation is apparent in the openings built into the walls for defense from attack. It included four madrassas (schools) for the four rites of Islam.

The Mamluks built using whatever materials were most expedient. In this case, a column recycled from a Coptic Christian Church. Can you spot the cross?

 

The Islamic cross is integrated into the many intricate tile designs.

Next door, a relatively new mosque, El Rifai, echoes the style of the Hassan mosque.  It is the burial place of Shah Reza Pahlavi, the last ruler of Iran, as well as King Farouk, Egypt’s last king.

By the end of the day, our brains were full of history.We learned that an examination of the architecture reveals a great deal about the history of Egypt, the role of various occupiers, and how the central role that religion has always played in the life of Egyptians has determined the course of their history.