Greetings from Cairo, where lights and decorations transform the city during Ramadan

Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR’s international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

As the holy month of Ramadan begins this week, Muslims in Cairo have been adorning their homes with lights and decorations featuring arabesque patterns. Lanterns called fawanees, like the ones I saw being sold in this shop in old Cairo, have become a symbol of Ramadan and are an almost-mandatory home decoration for the month in Egypt.

This street and the nearby neighborhood of al-Darb al-Ahmar bustle with shoppers getting ready for the holiday. They’re buying not only decorations for their own homes but also gifts to bring to friends when they get together in the evenings to break the daily fast.

And while Cairo’s streets and homes visually transform in the days leading up to Ramadan, once the holy month begins, the focus turns inward. The daylong fasts without water or food, and the month’s extended evening prayers, are aimed at turning people back to faith and away from daily impulses.

See more photos from around the world:

• Greetings from Mexico City’s iconic boulevard, where a dog on a bike steals the show
• Greetings from Kyiv, where candles are the last option during wartime blackouts
• Greetings from Mumbai, where residents take breathing space where they can find it
• Greetings from Kalk Bay, a South African fishing village where wild seals await scraps