I go to the butcher every two or three days to get meat for Habibi, who is probably the best fed cat in Siwa – lots of strays here that survive by attaching themselves to restaurants or houses, but are not really treated as pets.
I recently saw a goat newly arrived at our butcher being skinned, quite an art to doing this, and whenever you pass you can tell what the highlight meat of the day is by the signpost of the animal’s tail or head placed at the entrance. I have always thought camels were beautiful animals, despite their reputation for some misbehaviour, so it was disconcerting at first to walk past scenes like this. After only a month I am now used to it, and more curious about what is in store today, than wobbly at the sight of the fresh kill.
Siwa Soul - an Australian in Siwa Oasis and the Red Sea, Egypt 