Holiday in the North

Two weeks ago many of our friends celebrated the Eid al Adha or "Festival of the Sacrifice." The holiday commemorates Abraham's obedience to sacrifice his son Ishmael and God's provision of a lamb in Ishmael's place. Today it's common to sacrifice a lamb, though most people we know leave the messy part up to the butcher.

We took my friends Basma and Sayid up on their offer to join their dinner. They were celebrating in the northern part of the country where Sayid grew up. Dinner was great and not without its humorous moments---bound to happen when half the people can't fully communicate with each other. For one, Sayid's uncles thought Nick was the one named "Angel." Guess I have a man's name.

The next day we met other friends in Haifa, a city on the Mediterranean coast, for some sightseeing. I've included a few photos from that day.

Some views were better than others.

Me being difficult

Wandering around the Bahai Gardens

 Are you wondering how they mow this, too?

Moira actually posed herself like this.

While we were taking in the view from Mount Carmel, I'm pretty sure Moira was moonwalking.