Eid in Athens

Ramadan is over, the Feast (Eid) is now ending after 4 days of celebration, and a national holiday (6 October). Many AUCians “get the hell outta Dodge” during the Eid. In years past, we’ve been to Morocco and Lebanon. Friends have been to Thailand, Madagascar and other exotic places. For us, this year, we had certain criteria –

• First and foremost, we DID NOT want to be in a country that was ALSO celebrating the Eid. You may ask, “Why?” Well, just as in Cairo, other predominantly Muslim countries essentially shut down for the feast, making vacation and sight-seeing very difficult.
• Second, we wanted a direct flight. The Eid was only a few days long, and we didn’t want to spend most of the time traveling or recovering from jet lag.
• Third (and this was really just for Jack), we had to try to go somewhere that I had already been, but he hadn’t. Again, you may ask, “Why?” Well, he wants to “catch up” on the countries visited tally – in which I am currently comfortably ahead.

We chose Athens. Greek Orthodox, direct flight, my last visit was in 1987. Check, check and check. And for me, as with our trip to Rome, the years have been long enough that it is practically a new place for me. We planned virtually nothing, and simply got on a plane and left. It was a much needed break for both of us.

HERE are a few select photos from the trip.