Bringing the Cows Home
Erzurum, Turkey
December 6, 2008
Erzurum, Turkey
December 6, 2008
On the way to yet another fruitless and frustrating visit to the Iranian Consulate, I couldn’t help noticing a dramatic increase in the amount of livestock on the city streets. At every turn was a reluctant beast being man-handled across town by cheerful boys. Strangely several of the smaller beasts appeared to be dressed for New Year’s Eve with festive hats and ribbons around their necks. I soon came to suspect that whatever was going on it was unlikely to end well for the tarted up cows. After a few inquiries and a quick Wikipedia search I learned that I was in the midst of the annual celebration of Eid – the festival of sacrifice – during which those that can afford it sacrifice a prized animal and share the meat equally among family, friends and the needy . Not sure which was the exact day of reckoning for the unfortunate beasts, I anxiously stepped outside the hotel each morning preparing myself to face the bloodbath. As it turns out I woke up too late to witness any slaughter but instead spent the day dodging the spray as people hosed down offal from their front pavements.
