Old Souk Marke Damascus

Eid is Around the Corner: Where to Go?

I may not be Islamic, but I still get their holidays. Being a western expat in a Muslim country, with a husband working for an English firm, and children going to an English curriculum school, we get the best of both worlds – Christian and Muslim holidays. The kids love it – they only have about 180 school days per year, and although I may be sacrificing my sons’ chances of getting into a good university, so do I. It leaves me in an enviable position – while we were still sunning it in Umbria, we planned a quick getaway to Sri Lanka over Eid al Fitr, which coincides with mid-term break for the boys, giving us about eight days to play with.Just to make all you poor non-Dubians jealous, check out our up-coming holidays: 4-7 Nov – Arafat Day and Eid al Adha 8-12 Nov – Mid-term break 26 Nov – Al Hijra (Islamic New Year – falls on Saturday – may have Sun 27 off) 2 Dec – UAE National day (falls on Friday, so will have Sunday 4 off) 20 Dec-2 Jan Christmas and New Year break (English firms give 25 Dec and 1 Jan off) 5 Feb – Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday 6 Feb – a day off for the kids just for the hell of it 8-22 April – Term break (co-insides with Easter) 18-12 May – Mid term 17 Jun – Israa and Miaraj Nigh t 28 June-28 August – Next year’s Summer holiday, including: Eid al-Fitr 19-21 Aug

Eid al Adha has been my favourite so far – the last few years (lunar calendar dependent, not solar), it has fallen just far enough out of summer that it occurs with the change of season, and a need to rekindle the holiday spirit. It also has Arafat Day nicely positioned so you are guaranteed a three-day holiday, which really means nobody works for the other two, so you get a whole week, plus the weekends either side. This means that every year has included one of the following quick breaks:

Maldives Male is only a 4-hour flight, and hotels will meet you at the airport and transfer you swiftly by either seaplane or speedboat. To say it is a tropical paradise is simply not enough. It is a fantasy land, made up of tiny islands with fairytale over-water shacks, crunchy coral-white sand, glassy bay water for diving, and reef breaks for surfing. It’s a total chill holiday – hotels are villages on their own islands, and you never need to leave. The people are so relaxed and happy they would give Rastafarians a run for their money. There is plenty to do, and nothing to do, whatever you like. November is officially in the best weather bracket. There are still flights and plenty of rooms available as of today. We loved Kandooma resort , which has an excellent all-inclusive package, but seriously, the entire country is beautiful, and as long as you’re out of the capital, it’s hard to go wrong.

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