Muslims Celebrate Eid Al-Fitr with Family Reunions, New Clothes, Treats and Prayers

 A drone view shows Indonesian Muslims attend mass prayers on the road outside Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin Jayo Wikramo Great Mosque during Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Palembang, South Sumatra province, Indonesia, April 10, 2024, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. (Antara Foto/Nova Wahyudi/ via Reuters)
A drone view shows Indonesian Muslims attend mass prayers on the road outside Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin Jayo Wikramo Great Mosque during Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Palembang, South Sumatra province, Indonesia, April 10, 2024, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. (Antara Foto/Nova Wahyudi/ via Reuters)
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Muslims Celebrate Eid Al-Fitr with Family Reunions, New Clothes, Treats and Prayers

 A drone view shows Indonesian Muslims attend mass prayers on the road outside Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin Jayo Wikramo Great Mosque during Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Palembang, South Sumatra province, Indonesia, April 10, 2024, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. (Antara Foto/Nova Wahyudi/ via Reuters)
A drone view shows Indonesian Muslims attend mass prayers on the road outside Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin Jayo Wikramo Great Mosque during Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Palembang, South Sumatra province, Indonesia, April 10, 2024, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. (Antara Foto/Nova Wahyudi/ via Reuters)

The Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan was celebrated by Muslims on Wednesday with family reunions, new clothes and sweet treats.

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, nearly three-quarters of the population were traveling for the annual homecoming known locally as “mudik” that is always welcomed with excitement.

“Mudik is not just an annual ritual or tradition for us,” said civil servant Ridho Alfian, who lives in the Jakarta area and was traveling to Lampung province at the southern tip of Sumatra island. “This is a right moment to reconnect, like recharging energy that has been drained almost a year away from home.”

Before the Eid al-Fitr holiday, markets teemed with shoppers buying clothes, shoes, cookies and sweets. People poured out of major cities to return to villages to celebrate the holiday with their loved ones. Flights were overbooked and anxious relatives weighed down with boxes of gifts formed long lines at bus and train stations for the journey.

For Arini Dewi, Eid al-Fitr is a day of victory from economic difficulties during Ramadan. “I'm happy in celebrating Eid holiday despite the surge of food prices,” said the mother of two.

Former Vice President Jusuf Kalla was among Jakarta residents offering prayers at the Al Azhar mosque yard. “Let’s celebrate Eid al-Fitr as a day of victory from many difficulties... of course there are many social problems during fasting month of Ramadan, but we can overcome it with faith and piety,” Kalla said.

On the eve of Eid al-Fitr, Jakarta residents set off firecrackers on streets that were mostly empty after city residents traveled home.

On Wednesday morning, Muslims joined communal prayers shoulder-to-shoulder on the streets and inside mosques. Jakarta’s Istiqlal Grand Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, was flooded with devotees offering the morning prayers.

Preachers in their sermons called on people to pray for Muslims in Gaza who were suffering after six months of war.

“This is the time for Muslims and non-Muslims to show humanitarian solidarity, because the conflict in Gaza is not a religious war, but a humanitarian problem," said Jimly Asshiddiqie who chairs the advisory board of the Indonesian Mosque Council.

In Pakistan, authorities have deployed more than 100,000 police and paramilitary forces to keep security at mosques and marketplaces. People were shopping as usual Tuesday, with women buying bangles, jewelry and clothes for themselves and their children.



A Rare Peek at the Hidden Waterworks behind Rome’s Trevi Fountain

A view of Rome's Trevi fountain is seen through a window of its old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP)
A view of Rome's Trevi fountain is seen through a window of its old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP)
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A Rare Peek at the Hidden Waterworks behind Rome’s Trevi Fountain

A view of Rome's Trevi fountain is seen through a window of its old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP)
A view of Rome's Trevi fountain is seen through a window of its old water flow control room, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP)

The Trevi Fountain, arguably the world’s most famous, has graced screens for decades, from Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” to Netflix’s “Emily in Paris.” Each year, millions of visitors push through Rome's narrow streets to gaze at the towering Titan god flanked by falls cascading into a turquoise pool.

Yet, they never get to venture behind Oceanus’ back to see what produces the sublime play of water in the baroque masterpiece.

Wooden doors on an adjacent street lead to the maneuvering chambers that control the fountain's water supply, coming from the Aqua Virgo — an ancient Roman aqueduct 16 kilometers (10 miles) away. Two electric pumps recycle 126 liters (33 gallons) of water per second while Rome’s water management company, ACEA, carefully monitors the flow around the clock.

This precise amount is crucial for the movement of water through the statues; a little more or less, and it wouldn’t work, said Davide D’Alonzo, ACEA’s manager for the area.

The modern maneuvering chamber features metal tanks and lighted panels. In the original, arched chamber, water audibly rushes through a thick pipe and there is a functional, 18th-century hydrometer to gauge the fountain’s water level.

A large, rudimentary spreadsheet on the wall displays the names of rich Roman families whose homes received water from the chamber long ago; when they fell behind on their payments, their supply was cut off.

The chamber's grated windows grant views out over the fountain and its many visitors — all of whom are oblivious to its hidden waterworks. They toss coins over their shoulders into the water, a hopeful gesture based on a legend that it guarantees their return to the eternal city.