I lived in Cairo, Egypt for two years arriving in the fall of 2010 to pre-Mubarak control and left post Egyptian Revolution in the fall of 2012.
Immediately upon arrival, the city was celebrating Eid al-Adha also known as the Feast of the Sacrifice or Blessed Remembrance. After a month of fasting during Ramadan, the celebration includes the sacrifice of cows, goats, and sheep where the meat is then divvied up into equal portions and distributed to family, friends and to the poor. It is a very kid-friendly and community oriented festival.
I went out with my camera, taking pictures and stepping over blood – weaving through traffic learning the words for artist and painter, showing my slides and was greeted with such kindness as people happily posed for me with their children, in their stalls, and next to tables stacked with hooves like firewood.