Carrying Boys bring loam on donkey-drawn carts from outside the town to the foot of the mosque the afternoon before the celebration

Hundreds of boys with baskets of loam on their heads hurry through the town, past the bicycle repairman's workshop

Some boys work harder than others

The older bricklayers keep an eye on things and give directions where necessary. They function as co-ordinators

The girls ascend the stairs of the mosque as fast as they can

Elegant girls carry heavy buckets filled with water up the stairs. They take the water to the courtyard where the loam will be diluted