The wonderful, beautiful and mouthwatering celebration known as Eid arrived in Tajikistan last week. The end of Ramadan in the Muslim religion is celebrated by travelling from one house to another (or 18) and sitting down with friends, old and new, and eating exciting never before seen dishes such as peach cakes, fat fingers and exotic nuts. Hundreds of plates, bowls and pretty much any object capable of holding food and drink, are filled with colourful culinary creations that both delight and disgust the senses. We were strangers to 90% of the people feeding us but we could not have been made to feel any more welcome, these hosts were unbelievably generous and extraordinarily kind. We did not share their religious beliefs or traditions but they opened their homes to us and made us feel a part of the family. The celebrations lasted for two days (three usually but we had to get back to work) we ate meal after meal, we danced song after song, we laughed joke after joke and I realised with each day we are becoming less and less like strangers and more and more like family.
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