The National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) announced that Tuesday, April 9 will mark the final day of Ramadan, and Wednesday, April 10 will be the first day of Eid al-Fitr.
The head of the NRIAG, Taha Rabeh, said that according to astronomical calculations the new crescent will not appear after sunset in the city of Cairo and most Arab and Islamic capitals on Monday.
He explained that the moon in the old crescent phase sets 12 minutes before sunset in Mecca and 10 minutes in Cairo and in the rest of Egypt in periods ranging between 10 and 11 minutes, and Arab cities two and 20 minutes.
Egypt readies for Eid
Executive and local authorities and supply and internal trade directorates across the country have intensified their procedures to welcome in Eid al-Fitr.
The Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade announced the regular operation of municipal bakeries during their officially scheduled working hours, alongside assuring the availability of subsidized local bread sold to citizens according to specified weights and prices.
Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali al-Moselhy confirmed that a central operations room has been set up in the ministry to follow up on the availability of goods.
He assured that he is monitoring the situation daily regarding the provision of more goods, and the commodity situation in general.
Meanwhile, the prices of herring and fesikh – popular dishes after Ramadan – increased by approximately 50 percent, while citizen interest in buying fesikh, herring and sardines decreased by 40 percent compared to last year.
Tourism on the rise
Several governorates have witnessed a tourism boom as Eid approaches.
A number of hotels confirmed occupancy rates of 100 percent from domestic and foreign tourism, while occupancy in a large number of hotels ranged between 80-90 percent.
The Director General of the Office of the Ministry of Tourism in Alexandria Abdel-Wahab Mohamed, announced that tourist occupancy rates in Alexandria and Matrouh hotels had risen to more than 90 percent.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
