Lanterns for Ramadan

This post was originally going to be titled, "Ramadan Is Coming!"  But, it's too late for that since Ramadan arrived in Cairo on April 1, (but maybe not in your town until April 2 - see explanation here) and we left for home on March 30, two weeks ago.

During our stay this year, I had been collecting pictures of the Ramadan lanterns, known as Fanous (plural is fawanees) and the shops selling them.

You may recognize the Ramadan Fanous; it originated in Egypt but use has spread throughout the Muslim world. 

Prior to Ramadan, many shops begin to add the Fanous to their stock.

  

Temporary shops, dedicated to the Fanous spring up at various locations; this one is near the pyramids.

  

Two years ago, I blogged about one of the temporary shops set up near the Bab Zuwayla when we were buying pillows.

And, of course, many stores and individuals begin to display them, in various forms, such as this one by the Michelin tire shop just down the street from our apartment.

 

 

This article in the Egypt Independent describes the merchandising of the Fanous tradition in the form of Chinese copies, toy versions, etc.  This article in The National follows a similar course.

Since Ramadan advances by about eleven days in our Gregorian calendar each year, we expect to see Ramadan begin just before the end of our next visit in 2023.

More lantern photos at this Flickr album.