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.
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Muslims pray outside the Moscow Cathedral Mosque during celebrations of Eid al-Adha, a feast celebrated by Muslims worldwide, which Muslims in Russia call Kurban-Bairam, in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018.
Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo
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.
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Ivory Coast Muslims prepare to slaughter a sacrificial sheep in front of a mosque on the first day of the Muslim festival of Eid-al- Adha in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 21 August 2018.
Legnan Koula/EPA
The day is also known as the “Feast of Sacrifice.”
A vendor sits near goats displayed for sale at a market ahead of the Eid al-Adha celebrations near the Jama Mosque in the Old Quarters of Delhi, India, 21 August 2018.
Rajat Gupta/EPA
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.
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WATCH: Time-lapse footage shows millions of Muslims flocking to Mecca for start of Eid al-Adha
A Palestinian man throws his child in the air following morning prayers marking the first day of Eid al-Adha celebrations, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City August 21, 2018.
Ammar Awad/Reuters
Some Muslims paid respect to their late relatives at cemeteries.
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Palestinians visit the grave of their relatives at the cemetery on the first day of Eid al Adha in Gaza City, 21 August 2018.
Haitham Imad/EPA
Syrian President Bashar Assad, second from left, prays on the first day of Eid al-Adha at al-Rawda mosque, in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018.
Syrian Presidency Facebook page via AP
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, centre, and officials attend the Eid al Adha prayer, in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2018.
Egyptian Presidency via AP
The festival was also celebrated across Africa and Asia.
A Kyrgyz family prays during Eid al-Adha celebrations in the village of Kok-Jare outside Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 21 August 2018.
Igor Kovalenko/EPA
A man distributing sweets to children after Eid al-Adha prayer at King Abdul Aziz Mosque, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 21 August 2018.
Ahmed Yosri/EPA
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.
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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.
Muslim pilgrims move in the Grand Mosque on the first day of Eid al Adha in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, 21 August 2018.
Mohammed Saber/EPA
Over 2 million pilgrims carried out the final rights of the hajj on Tuesday.
Muslim pilgrims perform the tawaf-e-ifadha circling of the Kaaba, during the annual hajj pilgrimage on the first day of Eid al-Adha in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018.
Dar Yasin/AP Photo
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.
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Muslim pilgrims cast stones at the huge stone pillar in the symbolic stoning of the devil during the annual Haj pilgrimage on the first day of Eid al-Adha in Mina, outside the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018.
Dar Yasin/AP Photo
A girl joins in the symbolic stoning of the devil in Mina, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, Aug, 21, 2018.
Dar Yasin/AP Photo