NOTE: the kid on the left is wearing "fancy" white shoes
The tourists are totally lost & without anything to do!
December 30, 2006
Essaouira
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Eid ul-Adha is a very important religious holiday. This year, it fell on December 30. Although Wikipedia states that "Today many pilgrims buy a sacrifice voucher in Mecca before the greater Hajj begins; this allows an animal to be slaughtered in their name on the 10th without the pilgrim being physically present", this does not seem to be the tradition in Morocco. Basically we found every house had slaughtered a sheep either on the night of the 30th or during the day of the 31st. The sheep is actually not eaten on that day - supposedly 25% of it is donated to poor families. The rest is eaten over the next few weeks. What amazes me is that every father had the tools and the wherewithal to kill a sheep in their backyard (their roof). I know that if I had to kill my turkey personally for Thanksgiving, we would eat tofu! What a cultural difference!
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All day long we saw families getting their sheeps! |
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... and more sheep... |
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The next day, the medina is deserted! This is the quietest we've seen any Moroccan town the whole vacation! |
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Many people are dressed up. White is the Moroccan "new black" |
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Kids seem to be more relaxed and playful this day NOTE: the kid on the left is wearing "fancy" white shoes The tourists are totally lost & without anything to do! |
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Right outside our hotel door, there was blood in the street! |
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... Sheep horns in the street ... |
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... Sheep head burning is happening all over the streets. The stench is ... overpowering.... |
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It's not until I go on the roof of our hotel that I see the actual sheep (and hear some being slaughtered). Every house has those sheep skins... |
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... and from the roof you can also see the hanging sheep bodies.... |