Another Eid...another Holiday

This week we experienced the biggest celebration in the Muslim calendar, Eid el Adha or in English, the Festival of Sacrifice.  For those familiar with the Bible, you will remember the story of Abraham going to the mountain with Isaac, where he prepared an altar and laid Isaac on the altar as a sacrifice.  Then, the Lord provided a Ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead.  This was a test of Abraham's obedience and faithfulness to the Lord.  This fits well as Isaac is the son that fueled Christianity, while Ishmael fueled Islam. Well, the Islamic faith believes in the same story, except their story differs in that Ishmael was the son being sacrificed and not Isaac.  So, the Festival of Sacrifice celebrates the obedience of Abraham and the provision of God.  We figured we could celebrate the Festival of Sacrifice believing the Biblical account of this story.  On this holiday Muslim's dress in their best attire and sacrifice a domestic animal in remembrance of this event; usually a sheep.  So the other day, we had lamb for dinner and it was delicious.

So, since this is the BIG event on the Islamic calendar, we were given a week off from school.  So, we opted to venture out to the Red Sea for the weekend.  It was close enough that we did not have to spend hours on end in a vehicle driving around the desert, but it was far enough that it was a completely different place for us to be.  The Sea was AMAZING!  And, just like my first glimpses of the Nile, I had to stare in AWE at the magnificence of this tremendous Biblical landmark.  It has been said, that the area where we were is the alleged location where God split the Red Sea for the Israelites to pass through as they escaped Pharaoh.  Staring at the Red Sea it made a Bible story come to life and shed a new perspective on the story.  Yes, God split the Red Sea for the Israelites and they walked on the surface below.  The Red Sea is VERY wide and VERY deep.  Those walls of water would have been absolutely MASSIVE and they would have been walking for quite awhile!  Which means that the Israelites had quite a head start on Pharaoh.  I am thankful for all my Sunday School teachers I had in my life, but the stories from the Bible were made too simple.  Moses put his staff down and the Lord split the waters...and then we would color pictures that did not demonstrate the magnitude of the miracle.  Everywhere I look here in Egypt, the magnificence of the scriptures jumps out.  Wandering the desert...this was no flat surface like I always was taught and how I have pictured it.  There are mountains here in Egypt and hills, and deep sand.  It would have been tough to trek through the sand for 40 years!  Next time I teach Sunday School I will definitely approach the lessons from a different angle. 

Our time at the Sea was relaxing and rejuvenating.  The kids had a blast playing with the rocks by the sea and dipping their feet in.  Princess does not like swimming in water that has fish in it and Dimples was content in the sand.  We dune buggied in the desert mountains, went swimming, snorkeling, met some interesting people and Princess made a new friend.  We enjoyed the sounds of waves crashing into the shore as we set the kids down to sleep. 

The hilly desert on route to the Red Sea.

Dimples hanging out on the beach in the sand.

The view from our room.  Yes, it is the middle of November.

Princess loving the waves!

Princess and her little friend.  It always amazes me how kids that do not speak the same language can have so much fun!

Me, swimming in the sea. 

Getting ready for dune buggying...or as Princess called it, dune bugging.

A family pic amidst the desert mountains.  A quick break from our dune buggy adventure.

Now we are back in Cairo.  We do not go back to teaching for a couple more days, but have a lot of things to accomplish in the next few days.  I miss my students and I am looking forward to seeing those rambunctious children again on Sunday.  Right now though, I am thankful for this unique opportunity to enjoy fall break.  Not all teachers are blessed to have fall break.  I think that all schools should have fall break.  It truly is a blessing.