I am thankful that my weeklong stay in the Philippines coincided with the Holy Week. Our country is among those noted in its observance. In particular, Pampanga, Bantayan Island, Marikina and (some towns) in Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan are known for the procession. The day after my cousin’s wedding was Palm Sunday. And since then, I looked forward to the Holy Wednesday and Good Friday processions. I have missed these for years.
This is one of the mosques that I see everyday. This accommodates one of the many male Muslims that regularly pray. Normally, the females pray in a private (prayer) room. Although there is plenty of mosques in the UAE, it is still not enough and/or not strategically located to accommodate the population. Hence, those praying near and by the beach is also a daily sight for non-Muslims like me.
The mosques may come in different colors and structure, but the crescent moon over there stays quite the same. And yes, today is the (Muslims’) Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.
This is my entry for this week’s photo hunt (theme: daily).
What are you giving up for Lent?
I don’t mean to sound preachy. I just thought of sharing the jist of the few articles about fasting that I read recently. After all, I’m one of those who are guilty of finding a perfect opportunity to trim weight during the Lent through fasting. Some of us give up meat, sweets, and other stuff that seem to be a hard habit to break, in order to fast. But why do we really fast?
Fasting is about abstaining from food for spiritual reasons. A hunger strike done by some groups even for a good cause and diet programs are not a fast because they are for vanity and/or other reasons. We should fast:
Isn’t it wonderful when we really know and appreciate why we’re doing something?
Related readings:
Marhaba! That's "hello" in Arabic. I am an expatriate based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). I started writing about my adventures and misadventures few months before arriving here at winter of 2008. I have 2 cats and a dog who live harmoniously together. I am also surrounded by kindhearted, crazy, funny and indescribable humans!
I was a dormant blogger for almost 3 years because of countless reasonable justifications like watching football, postgraduate studies, sleeping, traveling, caring for the world, and more! :) I am just so happy that I am back! It is never too late to catch up with the people and things we really care about. Feel free to look around. 
witsandnuts 