WORLDLY AND GODLY RITES OF FAITH: About two million Muslims this week stood on Mount Arafat where it is believed the gates of heaven are open to the prayers of the pious; they were winding up their hajj (pilgrimage), the fifth pillar of Islam. Among them stood an estimated 100,000 Egyptian pilgrims.

Their descent marked the beginning of Eid Al-Adha (The Feast of Sacrifice). The day begins with an early morning recitation of "God is great/There is none worthy of worship except God/All praise belongs to God", ringing from the mosques. The call is answered by the pious who converged at over 1,000 open spaces designated every year by the Ministry of Religious Endowments for the special Eid prayer. The prayer is followed by the slaughtering of sheep, cows or camels -- a sacrifice symbolising the readiness of the devout to lay down everything before God.

But festivities take on a more secular bent later in the day: outings to public gardens and the zoo, heavy meals of fatta (rice and bread in broth) and meat, swings and balloons for the children and a good four days of holidays for all to enjoy.