Preparations for Ramadan in Cairo

Описание: (31 Aug 2008)
1. Wide of Cairo skyline and river
2. Wide of mosque
3. Various of people entering mosque for prayers
4. Wide of shop selling Ramadan lamps
5. People buying lamps
6. Various of colourful lamps displayed for sale
7. Wide of shop selling lamps
8. Mid of women browsing through lamp display
9. Close-up of lamps
10. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Nihal Abdel Azizi, Cairo resident:
"The problem is that there is pressure with the start of the school year, Ramadan and the high prices all coming at the same time. So everything is a bit messy, for example yesterday we went shopping and didn't know whether to buy supplies for Ramadan or school supplies so everything is a mess."
11. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Omm Islam, Cairo resident:
"People's income can't keep with needing to buy supplies for Ramadan, lanterns etc. Especially with Eid coming up right after and the start of the school year. So everything is coming up one after the other."
12. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Adel Farag, Cairo resident:
"The level of income does not help people to cope. The government should have delayed the start of the school year by another month, till after Ramadan. So that people get a chance to recover from the Ramadan expenses, then the next month's salary can be used to handle the school expenses."
13. Various of people buying Ramadan products and foods
14. Various close-ups of foodstuffs
15. Various of customers at store
16. Wide of store selling dates and nuts
17. Various of close-ups of dates and nuts
18. Man buying Ramadan products
19. Close-up of Ramadan products
20. Wide of mosque
STORYLINE:
Egyptians made preparations for Ramadan on Sunday as religious authorities in much of the Middle East declared Monday as the first day of the holy month, when observant Muslims fast from dawn to dusk.
Muslims in Cairo were out shopping for traditional Ramadan lamps and foods from shops that appeared well stocked ahead of the holy time.
However, some of the shoppers were finding the timing of Ramadan this year to be a bit of a struggle.
"The problem is that there is pressure with the start of the school year, Ramadan and the high prices all coming at the same time. So everything is a bit messy, for example yesterday we went shopping and didn't know whether to buy supplies for Ramadan or school supplies so everything is a mess," said Cairo resident, Nihal Abdel Azizi.
"People's income can't keep with needing to buy supplies for Ramadan, lanterns etc. Especially with Eid coming up right after and the start of the school year. So everything is coming up one after the other," added another resident, Omm Islam.
Official statements were issued late on Saturday in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and the Palestinian territories saying the holy month will start Monday.
Religious authorities in Syria, Qatar and Kuwait agreed.
"The government should have delayed the start of the school year by another month, till after Ramadan. So that people get a chance to recover from the Ramadan expenses, then the next month's salary can be used to handle the school expenses," suggested Cairo resident, Adel Farag.
Ramadan starts the day after the sighting of the crescent moon that marks the beginning of a new lunar month.
Some countries use astronomical calculations and observatories, while others rely on the naked eye alone, leading sometimes to different starting times.

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