After two years of coronavirus pandemic-driven disruptions, the Egyptian government has relaxed restrictions on places of worship and business during the holy seasons of Ramadan and Easter, citing declining infection, hospitalization, and death rates. For VOA, Hamada Elrasam captures Egyptians releasing their worries and embracing their communities. Captions by Elle Kurancid.
Egyptians Celebrate End of Ramadan as Pandemic Winds Down
Friends and colleagues gather at a restaurant to break their daylong fast with an Iftar meal in downtown Cairo, April 24, 2022. (H. Elrasam/VOA)
Since the start of Ramadan, cafes, restaurants and other businesses have been permitted to extend their working hours and ease other pandemic-related precautionary measures, in Cairo, April 25, 2022. (H. Elrasam/VOA)
Hundreds gather for an annual Ramadan football tournament following a two-year suspension due to the pandemic, in Alexandria, April 15, 2022. (H. Elrasam/VOA)
Reda, who serves free orange juice to Muslims breaking the fast, says, "Over the last two years, most people would refrain from taking juice from us if we weren't wearing masks or gloves—but now, nobody comments," in Cairo, April 23, 2022. (H. Elrasam/VOA)
For the first time since Egypt imposed pandemic closures and tight restrictions on places of worship, Muslims gather at a shrine inside the historic Al-Sayeda Zainab Mosque, in Cairo, April 17, 2022. (H. Elrasam/VOA)
Sameh teaches his daughter, Mohrael, how to weave palm leaves inside the Church of Saint Samaan the Tanner, which permitted larger celebratory gatherings this Easter season, in Cairo, April 17, 2022. (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
A Christian child's right wrist is tattooed with a traditional Coptic cross at the Church of Saint Samaan the Tanner, in Cairo, April 17, 2022. (H. Elrasam/VOA)
Chinese tourists visit the Church of Saint Samaan the Tanner, in Cairo, April 17, 2022. Egypt's tourism sector saw a 70% drop in revenue in 2020, before bouncing back by the end of last year, and then taking another hit with the Russia-Ukraine war. (H. Elrasam/VOA)
Hisham, a fitness and bodybuilding trainer and gym owner, works out in Cairo, April 25, 2022. During a post-Iftar workout, Hisham says, "With the loosening up of health restrictions, I have noticed more of our members coming back, especially to lose weight." (H. Elrasam/VOA)
Ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Egyptian shoppers pack the popular Ataba market — this year, with extended hours and fewer restrictions — in Cairo, April 25, 2022. (H. Elrasam/VOA)