Eid al-Adha

Today was the first day of Eid al-Adha, the most important Islamic holiday. It commemorates Ibrahim's sacrifice of a sheep instead of his son, after proving to God he was willing to do the latter.
As you might imagine, the slaughter/sacrifice of sheep holds a very important place in the holiday. I watched the sheep on the pavement here being dispatched to cries of "Allahu Akbar", as a liter or more of blood pouring from its throat into the alley's gutter. The butcher let me take the picture.

It was pretty dramatic, but if you eat meat you can't be squeamish about this stuff.

Anyway, the mutton from the sacrficees' is donated to the poor.