A man takes photos of lanterns ahead of the holy month of Ramadan at a lantern market in Cairo, Egypt, on March 18, 2022. Ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, Egyptians would always flock to local markets to purchase colorful lanterns for their children or to use them as ornaments for homes and workplaces, which has been a centuries-old Egyptian tradition. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
CAIRO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The traditional colorful lanterns, known as fanoos in Arabic, are key ornaments to decorate homes and workplaces during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Craftsmen in Egypt, Syria and Palestine are busy making the fanoos, which are of various shapes and made of wood, metal, glass and paper.
The fanoos originated in Egypt during the Fatimid caliphate hundreds of years ago when they served to light dark streets.
Traditional lanterns are seen in a handcraft lantern shop in Jerusalem's Old City, on March 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)
A Palestinian girl holds a lantern to celebrate the upcoming Ramadan, in Gaza City, on March 20, 2023. Palestinians are preparing for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan which falls on Thursday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
A shop sells Ramadan decorations in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)
Syrian craftsman makes traditional Ramadan lanterns for the holy month of Ramadan at a workshop in Damascus, capital of Syria, on March 20, 2023. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
A Palestinian craftsman works on a ceramic crescent decoration for the upcoming Ramadan in the West Bank city of Hebron, on March 15, 2023. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua)
Palestinian Ola Abu Salim makes traditional Ramadan lanterns inside her house at Deir al-Balah refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on March 13, 2023. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
A man makes a Ramadan lantern at his workshop in Cairo, Egypt, on March 21, 2023. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) ■
