
Having a delicate medical procedure is normally quite a private affair - but not for these boys who are being circumcised in Turkey.

Eye-watering images reveal the moment the boys were operated on in Ankara, the Turkish capital, without anaesthetic in a ritual known as sunnet.

Circumcision is widely practiced across the Muslim world, but has special significance in Turkey where it is viewed as the first step from boyhood to manhood.

Parents prepare for the day for months beforehand, throwing lavish parties for the boys which often involve costumes, music, dancing, and gifts of gold and clothing, according to the Turkish Cultural Foundation.

Eye-watering images document the moment boys in Turkey are circumcised in a ritual known as sunnet - which means 'busy path', signifying the route to God and the moral decisions people must make while travelling along it

Circumcision is widely practiced in Islam, but holds special significance in Turkey where it is viewed as a right of passage and the first step from boyhood to manhood

While some Turkish parents have their children circumcised at birth, the vast majority wait until they are old enough to appreciate the significance of the event, though there is no set age at which it must take place

Boys are often prepared for months before the circumcision as parents plan the all-day parties that usually accompany the event, with extended family invited to participate

The procedure is so revered that wealthy families will often pay for circumcisions for poor or orphaned boys and have them operated on alongside their own children

While these children are wearing their own clothes, it is typical for boys to be dressed in elaborate outfits - with wealthier parents weaving jewels into white robes made specially for the occasion

Muslims practice circumcision as a way of being like Mohammed, who was said to have been born without a foreskin. In the Sunnah, a holy text recording the Prophet's words and actions, he states the procedure is 'a law for men'

While there is no set age for boys to be circumcised in Turkey, it often takes place after they start attending school but before they hit puberty. It is not uncommon for several children from the same family to have the procedure together

Spring, summer and autumn months are generally preferred for the operations, which often take place on Saturdays or Sundays to allows as many people as possible to attend

Sweets and balloons (pictured in this child's hands) are used to distract the boys, while guardians are chosen to hold their arms during the operation. Islamic prayers are often said at the same time

Circumcision is seen as the first step toward becoming a man, and as such is often performed with little or no anaesthetic - with the pain seen as essential to proving the boys' masculinity

In large cities, including Ankara where these images were taken, medics are brought in to perform the surgeries - but in rural Turkey the position is trusted to a man who usually inherits it from his father

In remote parts of Turkey reports of botched operations are not uncommon - with permanent damage caused, potentially leading to infection, gangrene, and even amputation in some extreme cases