Ramadan is ending and the Muslim world is getting ready for Eid al-Fitr – perhaps the most cheerful Muslim holiday.

I have great memories of celebrating Eid with friends in Morocco in 1990. I had been biking around the country for most of Ramadan, and got back to Fès just in time for Eid. I had mostly observed the fast voluntarily, and because I found it – uh – awkward to light up, or eat during the day and torture everyone around me. When traveling on the bike, I did drink water during the day, as this was a total necessity. Also, travelers are actually exempt from the fast. Not that strict observance rally mattered to me on religious or other grounds. It was rather a point of cultural sensitivity and curiosity to take part in this amazing phenomenon of Ramadan.

Celebrating Eid with my friends in the medina in Fès was one of the greatest experiences and privileges of my traveling days. I’ll never forget the sights and sounds of the Fassi decked out in their finest, the hospitality and the great food!

Happy Eid!

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 22nd, 2006 at 9:11 am and is filed under Celebrate!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.