The Silence of the Goats

Today is the second day of Eid here in the sunny Islamic Republic. It's 25 degrees, there's a light breeze off the ocean, and goats are dying by the thousands. Eid is a celebration of when Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his first born son, Isaac, but just as he's about to kill his son, God says, "No wait, good work, kill this goat instead." That God... What a joker. I bet Job thought he was at Yuck Yuck's the whole time.

So, for these two days everyone sacrifices animals in remembrance of Abraham's faith. I'm told that the streets run with blood. A goat is a sacrifice for one person, a cow counts for more (like 7) and a camel, something like 15. You divide the meat so that a third goes to the poor, a third to the household and a third for your family. Then its time to light up the BBQ.

Even though I'm kind of against this kind of thing, I was morbidly fascinated to see this go on atleast once, but unfortunately, I haven't had the chance. I've also heard some great stories from friends, who had the whole, "Oh look a pet goat to play with for a week... why is he bleeding so much..." type of stories.

I'm just glad I got two days off work.