Today is the special feast of Eid Al Adha on the Muslim calendar. It is the day when those who can afford it slaughter a sheep as a sacrifice soon after sunrise and enjoy the meat with family. Most importantly many portions of the sheep are given to the poor as this is one of the intentions of the feast--to succour the poor according to the wishes of the Koran. Some Muslims, who are wealthier, may sacrifice a cow or even a camel. The intention is to share.
As a person who married a farm girl the killing of a sheep is not anathema to me. My father-in -law used to do this every Christmas (sometimes it was a pig), and the meat was apportioned for the Christmas table and also handed out to the farm workers. To some meat eating carnivores like us these things are sometimes abhorrent (we would rather buy chops from the supermarket without thinking about the knife or stun gun)--but the fact is, it happens, although some just see the end result. To vegetarians-apologies.
This is life as it has gone on for thousands of years. It is nothing new to me but what I find interesting in Cairo are the little carts that go around (only on this day), shouting for sheep skins that will probably go to the tanners. And on every street there is blood washed off the pavements and families boiling the meat for a great feast (shared with the poor). It is quite fascinating . Thought I'd give you an insight.