For planning purposes, here are the major Islamic holiday dates for the remainder of this year (2002):
Hajj (Pilgramage): February 14 until February 21.
Arafat & Eid al Adha (4 day Festival): February 21-24 inclusive
Hijri New Year: March 14
Prophet Mohammed's Birthday: May 25
Lailat al-Ma'raj: October 3
Beginning of Ramadan: November 5 (may be delayed by a day locally)
Eid al Fitr (end of Ramadan, the Festival of Fast-Breaking): Dec 5 to 7 (may be delayed by a day locally)
Holiday celebrations begin at sundown the day before. You can expect government services to be restricted or unavailable during these holidays, same way as the Christian holidays in North America or Europe result in a reduction of services. Hajj does not have a big impact on day to day operations outside of Saudi Arabia, but is a peak travel time.
For those who would like more background information about the purpose of the above holidays, the website Holiday Festival is a superb, unbiased source of information about all different religious and civil holidays in virtually all countries of the world.
[This message has been edited by PanEuropean (edited 16 February 2002).]
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