Eid

(warning: graphic photo below)

I'm home, but still recovering from jet lag. I'm. so. tired. I have had no energy to upload and edit all 1200 of my photos from our trip! Hours and hours of fun editing, which I really do enjoy, but can't imagine doing it just yet.

So, I am a little late posting about our last day in Dhaka, but here it is. It was the Muslim holiday Eid, and it was so great getting to experience Bangladesh on that day. To my vegetarian friends, be warned. This Eid holiday was a day for sacrifice, and literally every other house that we saw, out front they were sacrificing either a cow or a goat. I dare not say "kill," Justin was corrected, "We are not killing, we are sacrificing." Fair enough.

While walking down the roads, some gutters were literally running with blood and the smell, imagine a warm butcher shop. Despite this being hard to stomach, me being a some-what vegetarian, it was still a beautiful day. When emailing a contact in Dhaka about the holiday before we arrived he described Eid as a day where "everywhere is joy." And it was.

Early in the day we went to visit a beautiful mosque. We didn't expect to go inside because we weren't sure if we were allowed, but a Bangladeshi man named Bashir insisted that we go in and that he show us around. At one point some men at the mosque wanted to sit and talk, Annika and I were told, "for gents only." So, we found a little spot on the ground and sat, and waited for the men to have their visit. The men at the mosque made sure we were comfortable, they came by and gave us cookies and water, they even came by to anoint us with oils - it was very sweet. They were also explaining to us that despite what we believe, we are the same, we are human; and peace is so important. It was beautiful.

We couldn't tell what the men were talking about, but I knew Justin was loving this cultural experience, especially since the men only new Arabic or Bengali, and of course, Justin nor Ty spoke either of those.

That night, before we left for the airport, our sweet friend Suraiya invited us to her family's home for dinner. It was wonderful to celebrate in a home. Annika's story here.