Eid al-Adha Comes to an End

As the Eid al-Adha holiday comes to a close, I have to say that I’m pretty pleased with how I was able to celebrate here in Jordan. I got to witness the early morning prayer to begin the holiday at a demonstration for Syria against President Bashar al-Assad across the street from the Syrian Embassy in Amman. I was able to give my cousin a taste of the Jordanian hospitality I enjoy on a daily basis via a visit with my old host family the first day of Eid. I spent two afternoons at a livestock market watching sheep get sacrificed. Grabbed a couple of horns. I spent a couple of days at the Zaatari refugee camp as well, and saw their lack of celebration. Many echoed the statement, “there is no Eid until we go home.”

Also, I wrote a piece for Your Middle East on Eid al-Adha and how the meat gets from the pen to the table. The photographs, shot by Omar Alkalouti, are a tad gruesome, but it’s really interesting to learn the nuances of the process. Click on the photo of me and Iad below to read the linked story.

Me and Iad Zoube in the pen.