A holiday

Today the Teaching Centre was closed as we’re taking the public holiday for Isra and Mi’raj.

Known as the The Prophet's Ascension or the Night Journey, this holiday is observed on the 27th day of Rajab, the seventh month in the Islamic calendar.

Isra and Mi’raj marks the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and ascent into heaven, sometime around the year 621, according to Islamic belief.

The country is taking the holiday on Sunday.

So, had a lovely morning at the beach with C, then we went to The Avenues shopping mall for lunch, then afternoon tea. A good day out. The photo was taken from inside Debenhans in the new extension to the shopping mall.

Later that evening while relaxing on the sofa, the doorbell rang. It rarely rings. And I couldn’t see through the peephole. It rang again, and I asked who was there. After the third time, someone spoke. It was a good friend who’d gone back to Cairo early January, and had just returned, two days before I went over. Grateful to have a good friend here again. When you move about, friends you’ve known for a bit longer are even more important.