The Birqash Camel Market
I was told it used to be held
in down town Cairo,
and I can only imagine how crazy,
messy and wild it must have been..
This market is held every Friday,
dawn to dusk,
and has been, for ages...
It is not for the sensitive.
It is mainly a meat market,
and hundreds of camels are being sold,
bargained for, bought or swapped here.
I was told this is the largest market
of its kind, in the world.
In all respect for traditions,
it is pretty wild and not very organized.
At least seen with the eyes of us "first-timers",
probably not understanding
how difficult it must be to hold these long-legged,
fast moving creatures in line.
Camels and herders are seemingly running
in all directions.
And the herders come in all ages,
tradition taught from one generation to the next.
Some of these beautiful "ships of the desert"
are brought in from Libya,
Sudan, Somalia and Aswan.
For some their last trip
is in the back of a truck.
Drawing the connections to the beef,
sheep and chicken industry
in other countries,
I would put this in the same category.
Some humans eat meat,
some also eat camel meat...
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