I had just started to get into the swing of Ramadan. I got used to the idea of not drinking or eating outside, I even switched my sleep schedule to align with everyone else’s. Usually, things would be pretty loud all night. People were walking and talking up and down the streets and starting around 1:30 AM, the prayers and chants were blasted throughout the old city. The other night, Michael and I were up talking. We chatted past 1, then 2, and around 3AM we realized that it was totally silent, wow, Ramadan was over.
Then started Eid Al-Fitur, a 5 day celebration. The first day was very much like Christmas day back in the states. I felt like it was 9AM on Christmas morning, not a thing was open and there were very few people on the street. Later on in the day, all the kids came out with new toys and new clothes. Many of them had toy guns, which from a distance looked a little too real to me. They were very charming, “shooting” each other and especially the foreigners. Tami got a blast in the face from a water gun… Many of the girls were wandering around in their new dresses and other types of clothes, showing off their purses and other accouterments. There seems to be more open today, I think things are getting back to normal.