Nearly sixteen thousand amateur butchers were injured on Sunday in Turkey, on the first day of the festival of sacrifice, Eid el-Kebir, said the Minister of Health. “On the first day of Eid, around 16,000 people showed up at health centers across the country due to injuries sustained during the sacrifice,” Minister Fahretin Koca announced on the X network.
In 2023, nearly 30,000 people were injured during the four days of Eid el-Kebir celebrations in Turkey, according to the official report. “The fact that the sacrifices are not carried out by professionals is responsible for these situations,” said the minister, who called on those who have not yet sacrificed their animals to be careful.
“Around 16,000 people will not be able to enjoy the holidays”
According to him, 1,274 people were injured in Ankara, the capital, 840 in Istanbul, the megacity of the West and 416 in Izmir, on the Aegean side. “Around 16,000 people will not be able to enjoy the holidays as much as they would like,” he insisted.
This Sunday marked the start of Eid el-Kebir, the most important celebration of the Islamic calendar also known as Eid al-Adha or the festival of sacrifice, which commemorates the sacrifice that God demanded from Abraham, by demanding from him the life of his son — ultimately spared. On this occasion, the Turks sacrifice mainly sheep and goats and for the richest, an ox.