Eid al-Adha or "Festival of Sacrifice" commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael, or Isaac depending on your religious background, as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep— to sacrifice instead. Eid al-Adha celebrations start after the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
At the start of this Eid, I knew that it coincided with the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. I didn't know that it also was to commemorate the sacrifice of Abraham. I guess that I should have picked up on it a little sooner when sheep began being sacrificed in the parking lots around the buildings where I live. I gather that after the sheep is sacrificed, it is cut up and the meat is shared with family and friends.
Now that you know a bit about the holiday, let me tell you how I spent it.
On the first Friday, November 4th, myself and a group of friends went to the PAWS Ball at the British Embassy.
The Ball was a very nice affair. Sorry I don't have any actual picture during the actual event. Cameras and cell phones are not allowed to be taken in. It was an outside event, and the weather co-operated so that it was a very nice evening.
Saturday saw me helping my floor mate LK bring in a mother cat and her 4 kittens. LK has been feeding this cat since last year. When Sweet Pea had her kittens, LK looked after all of them, feeding and creating a safe place for them until the little ones would no longer stay in the shelter. Sweet Pea and her kittens are now living in the area outside of all of our apartments. Once Sweet Pea has weaned the kittens, LK is adopting her and we are hoping to find homes for the kittens.
Sunday and Monday I went to school and to try to get my marks and comments done before school starts again. Everything has to be done by Wednesday, Nov. 16, and since it is partly my responsibility to ensure everyone in my department has their marks done as well, I decided to get mine done. I also used that time to get my desk and book case organized so that I knew what was actually there. It is a good feeling to have completed that task.
Monday night saw us going to NB's and DB's apartment to play games. It was a lot of fun and I certainly had several good laughs that night. I think it was what everyone needed.
Wednesday LK, NB, DP and I went to the fabric souk. There is absolutely no way that you can see it all in just one day since there is store after store after store after store of fabric and notions. I didn't realize that there were that many different colours, patterns and types of fabrics around. It was, to put it as simply as possible, Mind Boggling. I was planning to purchase some fabric for a couple of skirts, but I basically ran out of time. (All the stores close at 2:00 p.m. and don't open again until 5:00 p.m.) I did, however, manage to find a gorgeous "bling" dress. It is red in colour and has "stuff" on it. I purchased it at an Indian store, so perhaps that might give you an idea of the style - Indian as opposed to being Middle Eastern. I have promised LK that I will wear it camping this summer or I may just create my own event so that I can wear it. I will post pictures when I finally do slip it on. Until then, you will just have to imagine what it looks like.
Thursday evening saw MW, LK and myself attend a Remembrance Day Service at the British Embassy. The service was held outdoors, in the same area that the PAWS Ball had been held. The weather was much cooler though and there were several women in fur stoles, coats and wraps of various types. I must admit that the temperature was very much to my liking. MW had been asked to lay the wreath for New Zealand so LK and I were able to sit with her in the "dignitaries" section. Besides Britain other countries who laid wreaths included Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Malawi, India, and a few others that I wasn't able to determine. It was a very nice service and having it in the evening, after the sun went down was different. Afterwards the 3 of us went to one of the halls at the Embassy and enjoyed an Indian dinner. All in all, a very nice evening.
Today, Friday, DP and I went to the Science Centre and watched 2 IMAX movies. The first one was Into the Deep and the second one was Haunted Castle. Both of them were in 3D. DP and I both enjoyed the first one, but the second one left us a bit puzzled. I think you have to be much younger to really enjoy it - like about 17. DP and I want to go back again in order to watch The Fires of Kuwait. It generally plays every Friday at 2:30, except of course for this Friday. I saw this movie in Calgary when it was playing at the IMAX there. Now that I am here, and have actually seen some of the damage done by the Iraqis, I would like to see it again.
Tomorrow, the last day of the holiday, DP and I are going to the Grand Mosque. Having said that, I need to publish this post and get my beauty sleep. More later.
At the start of this Eid, I knew that it coincided with the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. I didn't know that it also was to commemorate the sacrifice of Abraham. I guess that I should have picked up on it a little sooner when sheep began being sacrificed in the parking lots around the buildings where I live. I gather that after the sheep is sacrificed, it is cut up and the meat is shared with family and friends.
Now that you know a bit about the holiday, let me tell you how I spent it.
On the first Friday, November 4th, myself and a group of friends went to the PAWS Ball at the British Embassy.
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| Here I am with DP just before we leave for the Ball. |
Saturday saw me helping my floor mate LK bring in a mother cat and her 4 kittens. LK has been feeding this cat since last year. When Sweet Pea had her kittens, LK looked after all of them, feeding and creating a safe place for them until the little ones would no longer stay in the shelter. Sweet Pea and her kittens are now living in the area outside of all of our apartments. Once Sweet Pea has weaned the kittens, LK is adopting her and we are hoping to find homes for the kittens.
 |
| Sweet Pea and her family just after we brought them up to the 8th floor. |
 |
| We call this one Colombo. He is like Christopher Columbus in that he likes to explore. It's the first time that I have seen a bottle brush for a tail. Colombo was one of the runts of the litter. |
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| Here they are: Introducing Apollo, Colombo, Xena, and Apricot. |
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| This is Xena and she is fearless. Just after the kittens were born, I actually thought that she had died. Now she is almost as adventuresome as Colombo. |
Sunday and Monday I went to school and to try to get my marks and comments done before school starts again. Everything has to be done by Wednesday, Nov. 16, and since it is partly my responsibility to ensure everyone in my department has their marks done as well, I decided to get mine done. I also used that time to get my desk and book case organized so that I knew what was actually there. It is a good feeling to have completed that task.
Monday night saw us going to NB's and DB's apartment to play games. It was a lot of fun and I certainly had several good laughs that night. I think it was what everyone needed.
Wednesday LK, NB, DP and I went to the fabric souk. There is absolutely no way that you can see it all in just one day since there is store after store after store after store of fabric and notions. I didn't realize that there were that many different colours, patterns and types of fabrics around. It was, to put it as simply as possible, Mind Boggling. I was planning to purchase some fabric for a couple of skirts, but I basically ran out of time. (All the stores close at 2:00 p.m. and don't open again until 5:00 p.m.) I did, however, manage to find a gorgeous "bling" dress. It is red in colour and has "stuff" on it. I purchased it at an Indian store, so perhaps that might give you an idea of the style - Indian as opposed to being Middle Eastern. I have promised LK that I will wear it camping this summer or I may just create my own event so that I can wear it. I will post pictures when I finally do slip it on. Until then, you will just have to imagine what it looks like.
Thursday evening saw MW, LK and myself attend a Remembrance Day Service at the British Embassy. The service was held outdoors, in the same area that the PAWS Ball had been held. The weather was much cooler though and there were several women in fur stoles, coats and wraps of various types. I must admit that the temperature was very much to my liking. MW had been asked to lay the wreath for New Zealand so LK and I were able to sit with her in the "dignitaries" section. Besides Britain other countries who laid wreaths included Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Malawi, India, and a few others that I wasn't able to determine. It was a very nice service and having it in the evening, after the sun went down was different. Afterwards the 3 of us went to one of the halls at the Embassy and enjoyed an Indian dinner. All in all, a very nice evening.
Today, Friday, DP and I went to the Science Centre and watched 2 IMAX movies. The first one was Into the Deep and the second one was Haunted Castle. Both of them were in 3D. DP and I both enjoyed the first one, but the second one left us a bit puzzled. I think you have to be much younger to really enjoy it - like about 17. DP and I want to go back again in order to watch The Fires of Kuwait. It generally plays every Friday at 2:30, except of course for this Friday. I saw this movie in Calgary when it was playing at the IMAX there. Now that I am here, and have actually seen some of the damage done by the Iraqis, I would like to see it again.
Tomorrow, the last day of the holiday, DP and I are going to the Grand Mosque. Having said that, I need to publish this post and get my beauty sleep. More later.
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