Mombasa -- a little bit of this, a little bit of that -- and Eid Mubarak!

Today is Eid-ul-Adha and we wish you Eid Mubarak!

Yesterday was the best day ever to take a tuk-tuk into the city centre of Mombasa! There was such excitement -- it reminded me so much of the the day before Christmas in every Christian country. A smile hovered everywhere, people greeted total strangers, sunshine drizzled over everyone and left them glowing and happy, children were skipping and bright-eyed, and the streets were teeming with goats. Goats of every size and colour and temperament. And to make them look even more festive than the occasion already called for, they were painted in brightly coloured paint, letters and designs and markings of their owners.

And in the streets set aside for goat selling, there were fes'd men and burkha'd women and shouting children all trying to make sure they are getting the right goat, paying - or collecting the right price, receiving the best deal; arms flying, hands turned up, adrenalin flowing, goats bleating,huge smiles on shiny faces. Here a man leads away a beautiful specimen of a goat, tehtered to a string made from banana leaves. Over there a tuk-tuk with a goat peeping out around the edge, seated beside the new owner, on his way home with his purchase. And over there a woman covered in black, peering into the eyes of the white goat with the blue 'K' painted all over its soft fur. A five-year old drags his little toddler sister through the melee to go show her the goat their father is busy bargaining for - a gorgeous black and white ram that looks like it has just lost a paint ball battle -- big splatters of black all over its white skin; I want that goat! I want to take it home with me! He is adorable!

My previous experiences of Eid have always been with sheep, and here in Mombassa, the goats are a newie for me. But I loved it! Over the last 8 months I have really come to love goats. I love their spirit. I love how they always look for the highest position -- be it a windowsill or a termite mound, or a chair, or a car bonnet, or a grave stone -- wherever the highest point of their geography is, is where they like to stand and lord it over the world. I love how they but their heads and play and prance and stand on their back legs to reach the tops of green bushes. I love how they even climb trees and walk along branches, as if it were a cat that had nurtured and taught them when they were little. I love their colours and their designs -- almost as interesting and colourful as the beautiful cattle of Africa. I love their resilience and their sense of humour -- what other animal do you know with such a sense of mischief in their eyes as goats?

A while back, when we were in the southern African bush getting ready for Nici's wedding, we stayed on a farm where the farmer had a passion for goats. He bred them and owned a large herd. I expressed my surprise to the farmer's wife,our hostess. "Does he breed them for the Halal market? I asked, knowing that this is a lucrative business. "No!", said she. "He would never dream of selling a single one of them and especially not if it was to be slaughtered! They are his children. He loves each one and consider them part of the family!" I laughed at this -- dirty smelly goats , part of the family? And then I started travelling through Africa.
I now understand this farmer's passion for goats. I now share it, in fact.
Well. Almost...

The Muslims celebrate Eid twice a year, Eid-ul-Fitr and the other, which comes about 10 weeks later, is called Eid-ul-Adha.

Eid-ul-Fitr is a festival that marks the end of the Holy month of Ramadhan. This joyous day is celebrated to give thanks for the blessings of Ramadhan. Muslims attend the congregational Eid prayer service which is held in the morning. They wear new clothing, cook delicious food and invite friends and neighbors to celebrate with them. Fasting during Ramadhan inspires sympathy for the hungry and needy, and encourages Muslims to donate generously to the poor. The Festival of Sacrifice is a festival comes about ten weeks after Eid-ul-Fitr, and marks the completion of Hajj(Holy pilgrimage to Mecca). It is the festival of Sacrifice that commemorate the obedience of Hadhrat Ibrahim and his son Hadhrat Ismail to the commandment of Allah. Hadhrat Ibrahim had a series of dreams in which he saw himself sacrificing his eldest son Ismail. He inferred that it was perhaps the will of God that he should sacrifice the life of his son. Hadhrat Ibrahim, being most obedient to God, was about to sacrifice the life of his son Ismail, when God commanded him to stop and gave him the good news that he had indeed fulfilled His command. God was so pleased with Ibrahim because of his obedience that He multiplied his progeny into billions. He was also given the great honor of being the forefather of the Holy Prophet of Islam . On the day of Eid those Muslims who can afford to sacrifice an animal are enjoined to do so after Eid Prayer.

In his Eid Sermon of 1983, Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV, asked the wealthy Ahmadis to go to the homes of their poor brethren to wish them happy Eid and offer them gifts. In compliance of this directive, the delectation of Eid in Ahmadi society has escalated significantly and this is the very substance and philosophy of Islamic festival of Eid.

I have before, while still on the West Coast, posted photographs of the amazing hand-painted advertisements on the walls of buildings, shops and businesses. One could easily do an entire study on these -- and I now wish I had been even more attentive to these paintings than I have been -- if that were at all possible! And so, here are just a handful of the offerings of the beautiful Old Town of Mombasa, Kenya.

The oldest building in the Old Town of Mombasa (-- and when I say 'old', I mean really really really old! --) is the original fort built by the Portuguese, then held under siege for almost three years by the Arabs (I can never quite conceive such a hardship -- imagine being under siege in the confines of a fort -- albeit a beautiful fort -- for three years!) -- and won, and has always part an important role in the history of Mombasa. Today you can wander through the remarkably well-preserved old building and everywhere you look, history 'talks' to you -- the vistas from the walls over the wide, welcoming harbour mouth, the intricately artistic stone and wood carvings that all tell a story, the different and diverse styles of architecture that speaks of many centuries of history, the cells that served as a prison for many years, the thick thick walls of the armory, the drawings on the walls -- childlike but hauntingly true, done by the seamen that landed here in their tiny ships after a grueling sea voyage from Europe or the Far East, or from North Africa, and the ever-present crows - big fat noisy crows - that seem to be the guardian spirits of the departed in this ancient building...