Happy Feast!

That's right Dear Reader, it's the Eid El Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, which commemorates the time when Abraham was required to sacrifice his son. Jews and Christians record that the son was Isaac. However, our Muslim friends reckon that it was Ishmael, the son of Abraham's Egyptian concubine Hagar.

So, as usual, everything stops for the feast! Thankfully, the underground hardware store of Naseem Salama was open today, as they are Christians, and I was able to replace my broken silicone gun. I need it to complete the siliconing of the uPVC in the Guest Apartment bathroom. Naseem Salama's shop is just behind Luxor Temple, and next door to the Horus Hotel. I've written about it before, including a picture of their wonderful stock.

Across the road lies the large Mosque with the square minaret, and on the ground right next to it I found these:

Have you twigged yet? (Colloquialism; twigged = realised.) Yes it's a pile of sheepskins! All bloody and stinking! Every year we see these small groups of sheep here and there, nibbling away at whatever they're next to. But they all end up losing their skins and their lives, and ending up in someone's pot!

As I lay in bed, early this morning, hovering between dreams and reality, I was aware of this repeated "thudding". It was a good while before it dawned upon me exactly what it was, it the butcher's cleaver hacking away at a sheep carcase on the roof next door. Not long after it stopped, it started again, but a bit farther away, he must have moved on to the next roof. A busy man today that butcher, I reckon!

We walked (don't look at me like that! I'm perfectly capable of walking if I want to!) down to the Winter Palace for tea today, and everywhere we could smell the blood. John the butcher could have had a field day making black puddings, I can tell you! There had been attempts to wash it away, but we know that Egyptians aren't the best when it comes to cleaning, so there were red puddles all over the place, and Freda wearing her flip-flops, lol.

Never mind, we got safely home to enjoy some of Mr Alfred's smoked ham stuffed into some fresh rolls, with mango chutney and mayonnaise. Delicious, as we watched the film "Unstoppable", which was surprisingly good.

See you soon!

1 comment:

  1. We have been there when they do all that and blood all over ahhh.WE had black pudding for breakfast today at Scarbough for weekend treet.sandra mick xx

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