Ramadan Kareem (Photo credit: Ashraf.Kamel)

End of Ramadan and we celebrated Eid ul Fitr with locals at Kijiji Beach.

Ramadan dinner in Tanzania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For the whole month of Ramadan we had the beach almost to ourselves late afternoons for our strolls with the dogs.  By that hour the followers of Islam were tired, hungry and thirsty, waiting for sunset so they could break the fast for the day and eat!

The new moon, heralding the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan, was sighted on Saturday night past, and celebrations began.   Even for the Christian believers in Tanzania, being in the minority, it means some holidays and most the children get a brand spanking new outfit to show off on the next day!  We took the chance on Monday morning to cross a quiet ferry to main town, but misjudged completely how bustling the roads and areas will become after lunch on the first day of not fasting after a month!  When we found ourselves making our way home after 3 in the afternoon, the ferry queue was disastrously long, so we decided to take the long way home, through a bustling metropolis and my, o my, was this an education!!  Everywhere we drove were small groups of kids of all ages, dressed in the smartest, shiniest clothes and shoes, and excitedly hurrying somewhere!  I was entertained the whole way home, and gobsmacked at the amount of vehicles at Fun City, (the local Ratanga Junction), where just two days prior, Kobus and I were the only two people on most of the rides.  Everyone was going somewhere to go and make merry with friends and family.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Once home we decided to go to Kijiji Resort, to see some of the festivities first-hand.  We thoroughly enjoyed it , and I snapped away at the scenes of acrobats, clowns, people and beautiful gardens and seas.  A day to remember!

Related articles

• Thousands gather downtown to celebrate the end of Ramadan (thescoopblog.dallasnews.com)
• Ramadan 2012 Reflections (timesunion.com)
• Photo essay: Eid ul Fitr in Kashmir (dailymaverick.co.za)
• Photo Gallery: Celebrating Eid, The End Of Ramadan – NPR (npr.org)
• EID AL – FITR….. the count Down (mimiiluv.wordpress.com)