Eid Mubarak!

In Afghanistan, Eid-al-Korban is a time of non-stop visits to family and friends. In Islam, it marks the beginning of the Hajj, or the pilgrimage to Mecca. In Kabul on the 19th, the day starts with a loud chorus of hazanas (calls to prayer), and the men making a trip to their local masjid to perform the morning prayer. The quietude is suddenly broken by what sounds like a massive, dispersed herd of cows and sheep mooing and bleating for their lives. Which, of course, they are. Tariq, in high excitement, entreats me to join him for the ritual killing of the cow that our Grandpa has purchased. This is called korbani and is intended to be both a sacrifice to God and food that will be distributed to those in need. So this ritual killing is going to happen in our yard, I hear the cow mooing up a storm, and I decide that the best thing I can do with myself is lock myself in my room for the duration, with my ipod earphones firmly in my ears. About an hour later, I timidly look over the roof to see the cow’s skin hanging in a tree, and neatly piled chunks of meat being packaged by my aunt, uncle, grandpa and cousins into plastic bags. These bags of meat will be handed out to the poor in our neighborhood. (The picture is of our cousin Roshan enjoying some cow - I thought it might be a bit easier to, er, digest if I showed it in kebab form).

It’s a sign of respect and caring to others to visit them in their houses. A big table decked with every kind of cookie, nut, and candy is ready and waiting in every house for visitors to come and snack. Adults give children gifts of money, and even the tiniest of babies recognizes, coos (and sometimes cries) over the value of a wad of bills!

It is snowing wetly in Kabul and the dirt roads have become churned into swales of mud. It’s very cold. There’s no heating in the Corollas that people drive here and no central heating in houses. Yesterday and today, Tariq and I have been trekking through the guck to make our Eid visits. We ended up at our Aunt Nadia’s for lunch. I was feeling some anticipation for her good cooking and looked up expectantly when she proudly brought in a steaming plate. Except that…on the plate was the skull of a lamb, complete with eyeballs, swirling in broth of assorted bones and gooey gobs of fat. Tariq’s eyes glittered gleefully at this vision of kala palau. My stomach roiled. Given that there was nothing else served except rice, I had to admit with embarrassment that I just couldn’t eat it. Then, I had to make sure I got through dinner without looking at the gooey skull in front of me. Fortunately (for me), the remainder of our Eid visits required partaking only in candies and tea…much easier for me to stomach!

Last night Tariq and I drove around Kabul, huddled in the family Corolla with snow swirling against our windshield, looking for an internet connection. With Christmas around the corner, there’s been an exodus of foreigners and almost all foreign restaurants are closed. Lucky for me, my last friend in town has internet and I could post this today. We are thinking of everyone back home and wishing everyone a Happy Eid, Merry Christmas and generally a wonderful holiday season.