Eid Al Adha

We are on vacation for 10 days right now because of one of the two most important feasts in the Muslim religion.  Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival of sacrifice, which began on Tuesday and continues until the end of the Hajj pilgrimage.

Eid al-Adha commemorates the Prophet Ibrahim’s sacrifice of his son, Ishmael, to Allah as an act of obedience. Allah spared Ishmael after seeing Ibrahim's devotion and instead gave him a sheep to kill. In the Bible version, he is named Abraham and it is Isaac, not Ishmael, who is almost sacrificed.

The three-day festival also marks the end of Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Prophet Muhammad's birthplace. Muslims are expected to make the pilgrimage once in their lifetimes.

On the Eid, many Muslims celebrate and pay tribute to Allah, who gave mercy to Ibrahim, going to a mosque for morning prayers followed by slaughtering animals. Much of the meat is given away to others as a symbol of Muslim’s willingness to give up on behalf of Allah’s command. The sacrificed animal is cut in thirds, with one third eaten in a celebratory dinner by family, one third offered to friends, and the remaining portion donated to those less fortunate.

Worshipers of the holiday typically wish each other “Eid Mubarak,” which is the standard greeting during observance of Eid al-Adha, meaning “Have a blessed Eid.”  

We have been enjoying our time off, indulging in opportunity that we would NEVER have had before.  We started the week at Fuwairit Beach up north, sunbathing and enjoying the Gulf waters, just the four of us.  The temperatures have been beautiful and seeing the cooler temps back home in Minnesota and Wisconsin have given us cause for celebration as we are still recooping from the harsh winter we endured last year.  We joined some friends from school at the Four Seasons Hotel on Monday and lived it up in a huge suite, at the pool, and on the beach.  It was absolutely phenomenal and the fun and relaxation we came away with was completely worth the money :)  We did get a discount because of where we work so that was helpful, thank goodness.  This isn't bragging, mind you...it's just quite surreal to us to be able to do some of these things now that we are where we are.  It's a privilege that we don't take lightly and are embracing every experience that presents itself...big or small.  We are definitely missing our family and friends back home, but facebook, facetime, viber, and skype have been brilliant in keeping us in touch and getting our fix.  

Date night

Four Seasons Paradise

Our babies...intertwined at bed :)

Not sure Santa can deliver, kids :)

please don't fall, please don't fall

Here's to vacation...the apple juice was a wonderful vintage.

Hotel room balcony

Fuwairit Beach 

Sand man or Mer man or something

We could get used to this, Mom and Dad!

What?  No winter here?  

Out and About!!!

Outside the City Center mall

Sunset at the dunes

Beach Bum

Beach Party

Birthday Party at the beach

Riding in a gondola with my guy

New Car...FINALLY!!!

The Emcee and his Daddy

We have been busy getting ourselves more independent over the past couple of weeks and I have to say that it feels glorious!!! After a comedy skit of driving tests, signs and actual road, for the Americans only, Jon was awarded his driving license.  While I promise that I did indeed pass, I wasn't given a license because my residence permit has yet to come through. I'm really ok with it seeing as the driving here is quite stressful.  Jon is doing a brilliant job and dealing with my gasps and screams remarkably well.  He even found a great deal on a car that we settled on.  We're now the proud owners of a Kia Mohave 4x4 V8 that we feel pretty safe in and can really haul a** if need be.  It's an amazing feeling of freedom and we have been making the most of it.  Seeing as gas is a whopping $1.00/gallon, we're actually planning on doing some exploring.  We've actually found our way out to the singing sand dunes, where when you step or jump onto the sand it sounds like a choir of flatulence...quite amusing and beautiful.  We ventured out there with some friends we met from Sweden and had a sunset picnic. It was nice, but trash is an issue here so that was a downer, but over all, a beautiful evening.  Jay was invited to another bday party and this one was up north at a beautiful beach where the kids explored and swam and just enjoyed finally being outside.  It was warm, but we got there early and left early so it was tolerable.  Adam is doing well and really becoming a leader in his classroom.  He was one of the emcees for the all school assembly and did a dynamite job being enthusiastic and fun...reminds me of his Grandma Maribeth.  He was also selected to be a part of a writer's workshop with a visiting author and he's been absolutely over the moon about this special privilege.  The boys continue to learn and thrive in our new environment which is all we had hoped for.  They come home with new Arabic words every day and are learning the Qatari national anthem for big events.  Jon and I are enjoying work and trying to find our way and learn as much as we can about where we are living and working.  We have been here for nearly 7 weeks now and it is flying by.  We have a week off next week for the Eid Mubarak which is a very big holiday here.  Many people are flying out and vacationing elsewhere but we will be here in Doha, getting our house more homey with finishing touches, exploring the outside world now that it isn't hotter than the sun, and we have splurged for two nights to take the boys to an amazing hotel.  I'll fill you in on that next time.  We had a visitor this week as well...Brad, my good friend, Eileen's husband works out of Doha and had a couple of courses to take in town before heading offshore, SO...he got to be our very first houseguest.  Albeit for two nights and he's gone all day, but it's been so fun to see a familiar face and catch up on everything.  The boys were especially excited as they recently saw Brad, Eileen, and their 3 boys in Ashland in August.  It gave them a slice of home comfort, which was really sweet to see.