After the end of Eid, the festive trappings of Ramadan will come down: the green and white strings of lights on the mosque minarets, the garlanded arches over the major shopping streets, the larger-than-life dioramas portraying virtues like justice and charity at major intersections.
Late last Thursday, Imad Abou Moussa, 40, smoked a water pipe outside his infant clothing store, Baby Dream, waiting for the last burst of Eid shoppers. The retail season was weak this year, and he blamed Lebanon's political crisis for leaving people with less money to spend.
But he said he enjoyed Ramadan, fasting every day and giving the required alms to the poor. And on Eid, after a morning at the cemetery and an afternoon with his family, Abou Moussa planned to celebrate by carousing a little with his friends.
"Tomorrow, God willing, I'll have my first drink in a month," he said, rolling the smoke from his water pipe in his mouth.
RSS