For the majority of Egypt’s upper middle class, Eid is mostly spent at one of the country’s coastal cities, where they can chill in sea resorts and enjoy their vacation with different sceneries and lifestyles.
However, for others, finding their children cheaper alternatives to help them feel the joy of the Eid can only be achieved with taking them to local street amusement parks.
Mostly located in the cities’ working classe districts, the definition of Egypt’s local amusement parks is a vacant area in the street or at a parking stop or where a trampoline, a small carousel, bumper cars and sometime a Ferris Wheel are located with colourful small lamps hung above them, announcing the start of the Eid cultural festival.
The too decrepit and sometimes dangerous rides have recently become the working class and underprivileged children’s only joy in Eid other than local park picnics.
With the increase jump of well-established, famous park prices, social classes struggling with the suffocating economic situation are left with few options to entertain their children.
Days before the Eid starts, people start classifying the parks which differ in size and number of provided rides and games.
For little money, parks offer children ultimate joy of games that children wait for in long lines to join.
Such games also take place in Moulid, “the cultural festival of the birth of an Islamic relic.”
*All photos taken by Asmaa Gamal
