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Sunday, 30 December, 2007 || Kadıköy

We ventured down the hill at this third place, following couples and their newly-purchased rams. They had an efficient sort of assembly line working, but without the fancy machines some people had told me I could encounter at the fancier, more official sacrifice centers. First, the ram is taken away somewhere hidden, I think to be shaved in a few select places. Then they are dragged out, in this stage pictured above, and placed in line on the ground. One of the worker guys (the one in the black hat with the red stripe) ties three legs together and puts the ram in line. The other guys is probably the father of the household that just bought the ram. He follows his sacrifice through the entire process, usually holding the ram and perhaps blindfolding it during the actually throat-cutting itself. After the ram's throat has been cut, it takes surprisingly long for the poor guy's legs to stop twitching violently from time to time. During this most painful part, the butcher who has actually cut his throat continues to completely decapitate him, while at least the father (and perhaps another of the official dudes) helps hold the animal still. When he has finally stopped twitching, the ram is brought to the next stage, which was crazy. Since this is happening at a car wash, they have all manner of fancy tools to use for sheep-butchering, apparently. (Maybe it would be adviseable to wait a week or so to get your car washed at these places, just to be sure it isn't being washed with animal guts.) They stick an amazing air pipe into the ram's foot, under its skin, and they blow it up! Like a balloon!! Amazing. This obviously helps the process, because he is skinned increadibly quickly, and then hung up on a hook from the ceiling of the garage thingy. The next guy starts the real butchering part - take out the incredibly slimy intestines and inner organs, cut the ram up into sizeable but manageable chunks. The family who has bought the ram brings the appropriate receptacles - masses of plastic bags, usually, but one guy had a couple of big plastic buckets - and takes the chunks of deliciously fresh meat away in their cars.

Very little gore. Very little emotion. Very little spirituality, besides a few words of prayer when the ram's throat is being cut.

I was enthralled. Kate and I got gradually closer and closer to the action, so it wasn't too violent or overwhelming.

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all images by Annie Lambla

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