The Night Before Moulid el Nabi

Tomorrow is the Prophet Mohamed's (PBUH) birthday. Tomorrow, if I am awake early enough, I will go to see the parade from Karnak village to the mosque. Tonight I took in the excitement along Luxor's Al Mansheya street, a major thoroughfare leading to the train station. Every manner of sweet glistened in the tents that were erected along the sidewalks.


Molded sugar dolls in the shape of princesses and mounted heroes are uniquely Egyptian moulid confections. All are nuclear pink in colour and hard as rock.


I'm told the tradition of giving sweets to family and friends during the moulid began with the Fatimid rulers in the tenth century. They handed out sweets made from honey and nuts to win the favor of the people. This year, with people worried about their finances, sales didn't seem brisk but I heard that the government just gave LE500 to each non-professional head of a family (i.e., lower income families). That gift will be welcomed and will perhaps put some meat on the table, if not sweets.


In recent years, the pink sugar doll tradition has morphed into frilly plastic dolls of all colours and sizes. Although they have a distinctly 'Made in China' look to them, I'm sure they'll make some little girls very happy.