COOKIES TO DIE FOR: In the countryside tradition holds strong. The oldest woman in the village of Al-Dalgamoun in the governorate of Gharbiya sits in front of a brick oven and bakes the village kahk -- the butter cookies served during Eid Al-Fitr. Annually, and in rotation, a family will open its house for the two-day ritual of kahk baking. Female representatives of all the families in the village meet at the designated house and prepare tray upon tray of the cookies.

photo: Khaled El-Fiqi