CAIRO: Youm7 photographers got an inside look at Basatin Slaughterhouse, one of the most famous in Cairo, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holiday of sacrifice. Photographers followed the chronology of the slaughter: from kill, to skinning and emboweling and finally to butchering. The scene outside the slaughterhouse is chaotic as butchers compete for prime pieces, which are will lead to healthy profits during the holiday. The slaughterhouse grounds is richly covered with trees, many of which help to absorb the smell from the butchering. The slaughterhouse has four halls to receive the animals and a laboratory emblazoned with red and purple seals. The seals grant the slaughterhouse the ability to sell the cattle for consumption. Basatin receives 8,000 cattle a day during the Eid. A kilo of meat is sold to the butchers for 45 EGP and turned over to the customer for 80 EGP (U.S. $7.54; U.S. $13.40), said veterinarian Soaad el-Kholy. The cow livers, heart and kidneys must be checked for edibility, said general manager of the slaughterhouse Mamdouh Mohammad Ahmed. The cattle skins are also sold, he added. Defective cattle are sent to the slaughterhouse incinerators where they are disposed of at 600 degrees Celsius for four hours. The slaughterhouse has around 600 workers whose work began five days before the Eid holiday.
