The Birds and Animals Souk of South Jeddah

In Saudi Arabia, there are many specialized souks (markets) for whatever you may be looking for.  There is a big fresh fish market with daily auctions, textile souks for everything from sheets to carpets and fabrics, and there are souks for housewares, gold and jewelry, spices, computers, crafts, and well, just about everything under the sun!

This past week my husband took me to a souk I hadn't ever been to before in the more than twelve years since I have been here in Jeddah - the Live Birds and Animals Souk.  It's a really large souk, encompassing many square blocks of an area far south in Jeddah. My husband wanted to purchase some birds - he was having a craving.

The bird section was actually a little disappointing and it wasn't as well stocked as the times my husband has been there before.  Perhaps it was due to the virus or the fact that it was a few days before a big holiday here, when the main focus is on lambs and goats.  It was also difficult photographing the birds because many were in cages and I had a hard time focusing. 

The bird section offered all kinds of birds, from chickens and roosters to turkeys and pigeons, and many varieties that I didn't know the names of.  There were also bunny rabbits in this area of the souk as well.  Conveniently located in the same area was a butcher, who cleaned the purchased animals for a very reasonable fee, as well as stations selling charcoal and firewood.  My husband bought two pigeons for 15 SR ($4 US) for both, and the fee to have them cleaned was 2 SR each (50 cents US). 

Thousands and thousands of lambs and goats were in the next section of the souk we visited.  Because of the upcoming holiday, Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice, there was an abundance of livestock available, likely imported for this holiday from Europe or Northern Africa.

The Eid al-Adha holiday occurs at the conclusion of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, a huge celebration feast of sharing.  Normally millions of pilgrims travel to Mecca each year for Hajj, however this year due to the virus, only about 1000 pilgrims from within the kingdom were permitted to attend.  All international flights to and from the kingdom have been suspended indefinitelyfor several months now. 

According to Wikipedia, Eid al-Adha "honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to God's command. But, before Ibrahim could sacrifice his son, God provided a lamb to sacrifice instead. In commemoration of this intervention, an animal, usually a sheep, is sacrificed ritually. One third of its meat is consumed by the family offering the sacrifice, while the rest is distributed to the poor and needy. Sweets and gifts are given, and extended family are typically visited and welcomed."

Some of the animals available at the souk had remnants of their winter coats visible. For the most part, the animals were separated by types.  Many were "branded" with spray painted symbols on their fur. The cost of a sheep is dependent on its size and type, ranging in price from 800 SR to 2000 SR ($213-$533 US), but is slightly higher during the holidays, priced from 1300-2500 SR ($346-$666 US). 

We also saw camels and cows in the third area of the souk that we visited that day, but we didn't get close enough for me to get any good photos of the cows. Going to this souk was actually a special treat, as my husband and I have still been isolating because of the virus. 

If you are interested in visiting this souk, you can find the location on Google Maps by typing in "Jeddah Birds and Poultry Market" or "Jeddah Cattle Market."  The photo below shows the signs at the entry to the Birds and Animals Souk.

Carol's Cats

I have written before about my friend and fellow blogger Carol, known as American Bedu. She and her Saudi husband were both diagnosed with cancer and traveled to the USA to receive medical treatment. Carol's beloved husband Abdullah lost his fight with leukemia in February 2010. Carol continues to remain in the states and is still aggressively battling breast cancer.

Carol's blog, American Bedu, is one of the most widely read and helpful sources of information about Saudi Arabia that there is. She is a former US diplomat who has lived and traveled around the world. She has faithfully and tirelessly continued posting during her health crisis and has faced this challenge with grace and dignity.

I know I don't have to tell you how expensive health care is in the USA. Her insurance through her husband's policy was abruptly ended shortly after his death. So on top of her fight for her life, Carol is also facing financial difficulties.

She is a cat lover and terribly misses her two cats, which she was forced to leave behind in Saudi Arabia. Carol is now trying to bring her beloved cats to North Carolina. Can you help by making a donation to help her reach her modest goal? If you can, you will be helping to bring back some much needed comfort and familiarity into the life of my friend whose life has been turned upside down these last few years by the tragedy of illness and the loss of her dear husband.

Please click here to read more about Carol and learn how you can easily make a PayPal donation for her cause.

UPDATE: The goal has been reached and Carol will be reunited with her cats soon!

Halal Meat: A Disturbing Lesson

WARNING: THIS POST IS GRUESOME!


M uslims eat meat, but much like the Jewish term "kosher," the meat that Muslims eat is supposed to be "halal." What makes meat halal? Well, there are several conditions required. First, the animal to be slaughtered must be healthy. The kill must be done in a humane way so that the animal's suffering is kept to a minumum. Muslims use the method of one single swift swipe with a razor sharp blade across the animal's neck which severs the windpipe, the jugular vein and the carotid artery. This way the animal's death is quick and least painful. Right before the stroke of the knife, a recitation from the Quran is said aloud. Finally, all the blood must be drained from the animal.


There are also some other minor requirements as well. These include that the animal must be fed normally and given water just prior to the slaughter. Other animals cannot view the kill. The knife blade must be extremely sharp and should be four times the width of the animal's neck. The animal should also be positioned facing Makkah.

I remember when I was a kid growing up in Arizona, we had some friends who lived on a ranch out of town. One weekend when I was about ten years old, we drove out to the ranch, and the group of us kids - about 10 of us - were told to stand over by the fence. A cow was led out before us by two ranchhands. One of them was carrying a rifle. They shot the cow in the head and hoisted it up by its back legs, hanging it upside down. Then they slit the cow's throat to drain all the blood out. Before our eyes, they skinned it and butchered it until all that was left was a large bloody puddle on the ground beneath. As horrified as I was, I felt that I couldn't move and I found it strangely interesting. It is something that I have never forgotten to this day.

My husband grew up in Saudi Arabia back in the 1950s, and it was pretty common back then for the families to kill the animals they were going to eat. I don't think they had much in the way of supermarkets in this country back in those days. So he remembers being exposed to this ritual from quite an early age, and it didn't traumatize him. The kill was always done in the Islamic halal way, and respect and thanks were shown to the animal which was about to become their next meal. Children were brought up with this as a normal part of their life. I don't think it had any ill effects on the kids - this was what needed to be done if they wanted to eat. Nowadays most Saudi families buy their meat at the supermarket or a meat market, already neatly packaged into different cuts of meat. Today, families usually only buy an animal to have it slaughtered for holidays or special occasions like weddings.

Recently a friend of mine, Manal, told me about an incident that happened at her ten-year-old son's Saudi school. A rabbit was brought into the classroom and the boys were allowed to play with the fluffy creature for a couple of hours or so. Then the teacher took the animal to demonstrate how an Islamic halal kill is performed. But when the demonstration was over, the animal was tossed into the garbage can! Manal's son was horrified. The event deeply disturbed him. He told his mom that he could understand if it was killed so someone could eat it, or even if the fur was going to be used for something. But to allow the kids to play with the cute little bunny, and then murder it and toss it into the garbage - what kind of senseless and disturbing lesson is this? Manal called the school to voice her objections and displeasure and was told that she was the only parent complaining about it! I find it hard to believe that other children weren't equally as distraught as Manal's son was and that no other parents made a fuss about it.

I don't know about customs around the world in regards to this subject, but I find what happened at this school to be reprehensible. This lesson makes a mockery of any compassion for life and dismisses the humane treatment of animals as a joke. What value is there in teaching children to kill animals like this?