Thousands of people braved the steaming August heat to visit Abu Dhabi's livestock market on Sunday.
From 5am on the first day of Eid Al Adha, pick-up trucks full of goats and sheep arrived from Liwa, Al Ain and elsewhere to Mina Zayed.
Temperatures close to 40°C and sticky humidity made no difference to the eagle-eyed customers who carefully assessed the animals in each stall. Guarded questions about prices, impassioned bargaining and then talk of the best way to cook the animal soon filled the air.
“Sometimes we cook it on the barbecue,” said Syed Hamid, 31, clutching his newly-purchased goat. “But we also love mutton karahi – a classic Pakistani dish of meat and spices.”
From Lahore, Mr Hamid was still bargaining with the seller but the price was heading north of Dh1,000.
Eid Al Adha is the festival of the sacrifice and it commemorates Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God. Having shown his devotion, God gives him a ram and instructs him to slaughter the animal instead. It is one of the most revered religious holidays in the Muslim calendar.
It is traditional to purchase an animal on this day and the meat is divided into three portions. The first is donated to the needy, a second to friends, while the final part is kept for those who bought the animal.
The first day of Eid is the busiest – and most expensive – day of the year at the market. Lambs cost between Dh800 and Dh1,300 and goats from Dh800 to Dh1,900. Some animals are from the UAE – such as the naeemi sheep – but others are flown in from places such as Romania and India.
The Mina Zayed market is well organised. But it is still not for the faint-hearted. Animals should be taken in steel carriers to the slaughterhouse but some workers drag them by their feet and they cry out in pain. This is only in a minority of cases and municipality chiefs are making concerted efforts to end the practice through education campaigns and stricter rules.
“That treatment is not nice,” said Salih Shaheen, 27, from Sudan, who was looking for a sheep. “Some of the helpers fight and the sheep suffer.”
Casting a watchful eye over the proceedings is Faraj Balouch, who owns seven stalls at the market. “These animals are not mistreated and have a good life,” he said, pointing to his clearly well-cared for sheep. “Some are carried in a bad way and this is not nice. But the municipality is improving the rules,” said Mr Balouch, 35, who was born in the UAE.
People once butchered animals at home but municipality chiefs have also stopped this. A staggering 2,000 animals will be slaughtered on Sunday alone and it takes a mere 20 minutes to get the job done. About 300 animals can be processed an hour by 150 butchers and eight vets.
Head vet Dr Riaf Walid has been working at the facility for 25 years. “When I started, many people even brought their own butcher,” recalls Dr Walid, 51. “There were few rules then. But Abu Dhabi Municipality changed all that.”
Regarding any mistreatment, he said the municipality is constantly educating the workers but on the busiest day it is difficult to control everything. “We don’t have 1,500 carriers,” said the Syrian. “But every year we have been making improvements.”
Close to 6,000 animals will pass through the Mina Zayed facility alone this Eid, and this climbs to 20,000 across Abu Dhabi’s five official slaughterhouses – up from 19,000 last year. A lesson in how to haggle, the livestock market is a glimpse at old Abu Dhabi. But not even this historic trade is immune from the web. An online portal – zabehaty – now allows customers to purchase an animal online and have it butchered for them. About 400 were ordered through the portal this year – up from 130 last year – and this could ease queues at the slaughterhouse.
But for now, Dr Walid will still have to put in an epic shift on Sunday, working from 5:50am to 10pm.
“At the end of my shift when everything is clean, I will be happy,” he said.