The day before Kurban Bayram starts is called Arefe. This is a day when people visits the graves of those who are not among them anymore and plant flowers on the graves. In Alanya the municipality provides it's inhabitants with free flowers to be planted on the graves.
During the four-day holiday, which takes place from Nov. 6-9 of this year, Muslims worldwide remember and celebrates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. God saw this, intervened and provided him with a ram to be sacrificed in his son's stead.
There are special places for the sacrifices of animals (usually a cow or a sheep). As there are not enough butchers for a day like this the sacrifices take place at special appointed places. It can be a warehouse, a car-wash or some other empty premises. In Turkey it is forbidden to sacrifice animals in places that are not appointed for this purpose. Unfortunately there are still many doing the sacrifice in their own gardens!
The meat from the sacrifice is divided into three parts. The family keeps one third of the share, another third is given to friends and neighbors and the last third is being donated to the less fortunate. For many people this is the one time per year when they can have meal with meat!
During Bayram people are not meant to fight. You have to be nice to everyone! The first day of Bayram is normally spent with family. The other days with relatives and friends. This is also a time when people dress in new clothes, meaning that it boosts sales in Turkey!
Iyi Bayramlar!
