Mothers Day

Yoyo huddled in his
shop in his Farwa

The temperature plummeted from 26 degrees to 4 degrees in 24 hours. It rained for 2 days and everyone is back to wearing winter clothes. The subdued festive events of Ramadan in the night are almost abandoned as strong winds whipped up chaos, blowing tents and tables everywhere. Nobody wants to stay out in such a weather. Still crowds continue to visit the mosques to pray and shops are selling raincoats and umbrellas. 

Coming back from work, the usually crowded streets were quite empty. Yoyo the son of our doorman, was huddling in his small shop to stay warm. The bedouin winter coat Farwa is now very popular this year. Made from goat or sheep skin and padded with wool, it's very warm and waterproof. They use it as a blanket as well. Instead of the usual old men wearing it, this year almost all the young men are wearing one. I might get myself one if it's a little cheaper.

Unsold bouquets

Yesterday was Mothers Day in our region. With the war going on and bleak economic situation, few families wanted or could afford to celebrate it. I saw a whole row of bouquet unsold at 6pm ... a sad sight. Usually there would be mothers walking in the streets holding balloons and bouquet gifted by their families. This year the streets were barely crowded and no one carried gifts. Very sad but it reflects the reality that we're living in.