Muslims around the world marked the Eid al-Adha holiday on Tuesday, gathering at mosques or in vast open sites to celebrate one of the two most important festivals of the Islamic calendar.
Commemorating the willingness of Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son on God’s command, Muslims mark the holiday by slaughtering animals such as sheep and goats.
The meat is shared among family and friends and also donated to the poor.
The day is also known as the “Feast of Sacrifice.”
Palestinians visited the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, following morning prayers marking the first day of the Eid al-Adha celebration.
WATCH: Time-lapse footage shows millions of Muslims flocking to Mecca for start of Eid al-Adha
Some Muslims paid respect to their late relatives at cemeteries.
In Syria, President Bashar Al-Assad attended prayers at a mosque in Damascus.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also visited a Cairo mosque to mark the occasion.
The festival was also celebrated across Africa and Asia.
In the Kenyan capital Nairobi thousands gathered in a field for mass prayers, the faithful also met in the Somali capital Mogadishu, and prayed at Almaty’s Central Mosque in Kazakhstan.
Muslims also attended services in European countries such as Poland and Italy.
The festival comes as the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia draws to a close.
Over 2 million pilgrims carried out the final rights of the hajj on Tuesday.
Pilgrims walked to a complex in Mina on Tuesday to throw pebbles at three columns. Muslims believe the devil tried to talk the Prophet Ibrahim out of submitting to God’s will there.
—With files from Reuters
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