It is still decently warm in Egypt. The early mornings and nights are a bit nippy, but most days are still pleasantly warm, where at most a light jacket or long sleeved shirt might be needed … a total contrast to the snowy December days I think of when Christmas comes to mind. When walking down Street 9 in Maadi, where I live, I was absolutely thrilled to see a couple of shops with Christmas trees. I bought a small tree with lights and a few cheaply made decorations to bring Christmas cheer to my apartment. However, it isn’t the Christmas spirit that is abundantly present in Egypt (at least not now, the Coptic Christians in Egypt celebrate Christmas in January), it’s the hoards of sheep on every street … just waiting.
Eid El Adha is a three day feast observed by Muslims. The holiday commemorates the story in the Quran where Allah (God) asked Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael. As Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son, Allah intervened and a sheep was slaughtered and sacrificed in place of Ismael. This story is similar to a story both in the Bible and the Torah (though instead of Ismael it was Isaac who was to be sacrificed). So, in honor of this story, during Eid Al Adha, those Muslims who can afford it sacrifice a sheep or a goat. One third of the meat is kept and eaten, another third is given to relatives, and the last third is shared with poorer people in their community.
There are many similarities between Islam, Christianity and Judaism. While I’m not a theologian, nor am I especially knowledgeable about one religion over another, I have studied the monotheistic religions and am especially interested in comparison studies between Christianity and Islam. I find it very interesting that there are so many commonalties between Islam and Christianity (though I also recognize that there are some huge differences as well).
One explanation for this, from an Islamic perception, is that Muslims believe that Jews and Christians are “People of the Book”. That is Muslims believe that Christians and Jews have received a message from God, the same God (Allah) in which they worship, but because their books (the Bible and Torah) were inspired by God but written by humans they were subjected to human error, whereas the Quran, as Muslims believe, is the literal word of God, in first person, as dictated to the Prophet Muhammad (who was illiterate and also believed by Muslims to be the last prophet whereas Jesus, for example, is considered the second-last prophet in Islam).
No matter what your beliefs are (and you must note that I am not trying to push one religion over another, nor is this in any way indicative of the religion that I follow, the commonalties between the three monotheistic religions are very interesting and undeniable, such as the story of Ibrahim and Ismael (or Isaac).
I’m not sure what my Eid El Adha festivities will consist of, but I will no doubt be spending the holiday with my family. Most places are closed for Eid El Adha and my job has given me the week off for the holiday (yes!). Regardless, I’m sure we will be eating lots of yummy food which I am looking forward to! I especially like “Fatta”, a traditional dish prepared during this holiday made of meat and rice with sauce and bread soaked in broth. It doesn’t sound like a complicated dish, and it might not even be that hard to make, but it is delicious! Of course, since sheep are sacrificed, there is an abundance of lamb meat served during Eid.
I’m not a fan of lamb meat - I had a pet lamb (we named him Lonely) who, while my brothers and I were at school one year, died from the “stomach flu”. We later learned that Dad sacrificed him. Dad sacrificed a lot of our pets (well at least we thought they were pets, looking back I guess I realize the sole purpose of having them was for Dad to later sacrifice) and I was officially scarred for life. I have since then, become particularly sensitive to what types of meat I will eat. So, during the hustle and bustle of the Eid Al Adha feast I will be especially particular as to what types of dishes I will consume, as not to eat any lamb meat. Regardless of it all, it should be a good time. So in light of the upcoming holiday …
Kol sana wenta tayeb (literally translated as, “Every year and you be well.”)
Karema Eldahan is a Middlesboro native living in Egypt. She shares this experience through her weekly column. Write to her at editor@middlesborodailynews.com.
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