It seems that the proverb saying, "The bride's celebration has arrived home, and the mother is busy chopping onions," is the most relevant event to everyone singing their own tune.

"I'm not a vegetarian, but meat has become a memory," means the state of meat hasn’t changed since it was last featured in the spotlight on the TV show "Bekaa Light" six years ago.

Citizens are surprised by the fluctuating meat prices. Some refrain from buying it due to its expense in comparison to their income, regardless of health concerns. As the saying goes, "If you're at the well, draw with care," so imagine the struggle if we were inside the well!

Recently, chicken prices have soared while citizens feel like their feathers are plucked. Imagine, the average price of "plucked" chicken is around 50,000 Syrian pounds per kilogram, while lamb and sheep meat range between 200,000 and 220,000 Syrian pounds per kilogram, and veal between 140,000 and 160,000 Syrian pounds per kilogram.

As the Syrian citizen tends to be "vegetarian" by nature, it's normal for the demand for meat to decline, especially during recent holidays. While the world indulges in barbecue parties, some provinces are preoccupied with "tabbouleh." Here, I imagined the response from concerned authorities, citing reasons such as "due to the weakness of the Ottoman state and soil erosion."

However, returning to the real reasons behind the rise in meat prices, the president of the Butchers Association, Mohammad Yahya Al-Khan, explained to local sources that the increase in meat prices is due to the rise in fuel costs, transportation fees, and the price of fodder. He pointed out that 700 sheep and 35 calves are slaughtered daily in Damascus.

These quantities are undoubtedly purchased by restaurants, which are frequented by the "domestic" Syrian communities, leaving little room for maneuver for the "external" citizen.