Eid in London

September 10-12 I booked tickets to London... I was overdue for some family loving. I took the Eurostar- the superbly efficient train from central Paris to central London. I left Friday after work and about 2.5 hours later, I was in London. I took a few transfers and met my cousin Ayesha and her family at a beautiful hotel for a lovely buffet dinner, it was so great to see everyone, including the new arrival to their family, baby Laila... what a wee cutie!!!!

Soon after we headed back to their place... like most Muslim families after Ramadaan, there is a (many) Eid feasts... I had to take a picture of the list with the leftovers!

Eid ul-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr‎), often abbreviated to Eid, is a three-day Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "conclusion of the fast"; and so the holiday celebrates the conclusion of the thirty days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. The first day of Eid, therefore, falls on the first day of the month Shawwal.

Eid-ul-Fitr Salat (Namaz in Urdu/Persian) is a Wajib (strongly recommended, just short of obligatory) or mandoob (preferable) – depending on which juristic opinion is followed – Islamic prayer consisting of two raka'ah (units)^[1] which is generally offered in an open field or large hall called an Eed-gah. This salaat or prayer, can only be performed with Jama’at (i.e., in congregation) and has an additional extra six Takbirs (raising of the hands to the ears while saying Allahu Akbar (God is Great), three of them in the beginning of the first raka'ah and three of them just before ruku' in the second raka'ah in the Hanafi school.^[2] Eid ul-Fitr is sometimes also known as the "Smaller Eid" (Arabic: العيد الصغير al-‘īdu ṣ-ṣaghīr‎) as compared to the Eid al-Adha, which lasts four days following the Hajj and is casually referred to as the "Greater Eid" (Arabic: العيد الكبير al-‘īdu l-kabīr‎). Although in Southeast Asian countries, Eid-ul-Fitr is considered "greater" than Eid al-Adha and is the most important feast for Muslims there. Muslims are commanded by God in the Qur'an to complete their fast on the last day of Ramadan.^[3]

The next morning, my lovely cousin Ayesha took me for a stroll through Windsor... what a beautiful area!!!



Windsor is an ever so typical English town ... I love it, it's so quaint!!!
It was good timing on our part, we had no idea, but it was actually the changing of the guards!!!!
So glad I could be there to witness it!!!

Windsor Castle, in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited castle in the world and, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, is the oldest in continuous occupation.^[1] The castle's floor area is about 45,000 square metres (480,000 sq ft).^[2]

Together with Buckingham Palace in London and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, it is one of the three principal official residences of the British monarch. Queen Elizabeth II spends many weekends in the year at the castle, using it for both state and private entertaining. Her other two residences, Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle, are the Royal Family's private homes.

Most of the Kings and Queens of England, later Kings and Queens of the United Kingdom, have had a direct influence on the construction and evolution of the castle, which has been their garrison fortress, home, official palace, and sometimes their prison. Chronologically the history of the castle can be traced through the reigns of the monarchs who have occupied it. When the country has been at peace, the castle has been expanded by the addition of large and grand apartments; but when the country has been at war, the castle has been more heavily fortified. This pattern continues to the present day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_castle

It was really nice strolling along through the castle... unfortunately I couldn't take pics of doll house, but I agree with Ayesha... it is the most fabulous part of the castle!!!

Queen Mary's Dolls' House

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Queen Mary's Dolls' house (click to enlarge and see details).

Queen Mary's Dolls' House

Queen Mary's Dolls' House is a dollhouse built in the early 1920s, completed in 1924, for Queen Mary, the wife of King George V.

The idea for building the dollhouse originally came from the Queen's cousin, Princess Marie Louise, who discussed her idea with one of the top architects of the time, Sir Edwin Lutyens at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition of 1921. Sir Edwin agreed to construct the dollhouse and began preparations. Princess Marie Louise had many connections in the arts and arranged for the top artists and craftsmen of the time to contribute their special abilities to the house. As a result, the dollhouse has an amazing collection of miniature items that actually work. It was created as a gift to Queen Mary from the people, and to serve as an historical document on how a royal family might live during that period in England.

It showcased the very finest and most modern goods of the period. Later the dollhouse was put on display to raise funds for the Queen's charities. It was originally exhibited at the British Empire Exhibition, 1924/1925, and is now on display in Windsor Castle, at Windsor, Berkshire, England as a tourist attraction, especially to people with an interest in miniature houses and furniture.

It was made to a scale of 1:12 (one inch to the foot), is over three feet tall, and contains models of products of well known companies of the time. It is remarkable for its detail and the detail of the objects within it, many of which are 1/12th replicas of items in Windsor Castle. These were either made by the companies themselves, or by specialist modelmakers, such as Twining Models of Northampton, England. The carpets, curtains and furnishings are all copies of the real thing, and even the light fittings are working. The bathrooms are fully plumbed; that includes a flushable toilet and miniature lavatory paper.

In addition, well known writers wrote special books which were written and bound in scale size by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle contributed the short story How Watson Learned the Trick. Other authors were J. M. Barrie, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling and W. Somerset Maugham. (George Bernard Shaw rebuffed her requests for a tiny volume of his work).^[1] Painters also provided miniature pictures. Even the bottles in the wine cellar were filled with the appropriate wines and spirits, and the wheels of motor vehicles are properly spoked.^[2

^]

Beautiful gardens!!!




Vasco, Nunez and I with guard.. he was so cute, they not supposed to move but when I asked him if I could get a picture with him he nodded his head ever so slightly and when I thanked him, he gave me a teeny crack of a smile! haha

Eid lunch was held at my aunty Farida's place in London... present were many of her friends and family including my two lovely cousins Lameez and Alia!!!
This is one of the 3 tables of food.... it was a FEAST.
Wow....
The Eid-mas tree :)
Children playing with the presents they received for Eid...
Uncle Dougy and his friend playing some soulful jazz

Sammy and I .. like father like son!
Sammy and Lameez
So after a long day of feasting... there comes cleanup...
And after the long clean up... comes the siesta.

It was a fabulous weekend with wonderful family.... Thank you to the Gamiet's and the Fortune's for providing me with the family loving I was longing for. xo