March 5, 2001

A cow. For most of you, that’s all you want to know.

Today was the beginning of 'Eid al-Adha, the Muslim feast which celebrates the sparing of Ishmael (in the Qur'an, it is understood that Abraham took his firstborn - i.e. Ishmael not Isaac - to sacrifice) from the knife of Abraham, and marks the end of the season for pilgrimage to Mecca. Most families this year are using chickens (because of the lack of money) instead of the usual sheep. We had a cow, and will spare you the details.

If you really want to see/read more, click here - but only if you really want to.

Our host’s garden.

We spent most of the rest of the day eating meat and lounging around the house and the garden while our host went on the requisite family visits that seem to take up most of the holiday. A nice, nice day of rest.