Muslims across the world celebrate Eid al-Adha with great pleasure

Friday marks Eid al-Adha or Qurban Bayram as it is known in Turkey, a Muslim holiday when animals are ritually sacrificed and their meat is delivered to the poor.
Eid al-Adha is one of the most important feasts on the Muslim calendar. It is celebrated by sacrificial killing of goats, cows and sheep.
The slaughter commemorates the biblical story of Abraham, who was on the verge of sacrificing his son Ismail to obey God's command when God interceded by substituting a ram in the child's place.
Eid al-Adha is the holiest of the two Muslims holidays celebrated each year, it marks the yearly Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj) to visit Mecca, the holiest place in Islam.
Muslims slaughter a sacrificial animal and split the meat into three parts, one for the family, one for friends and relatives, and one for the poor and needy.
The festival starts with prayers at dawn when over a billion Muslims fill mosques across the globe.
Here are the top shots from all over the world during this festive time of the year:

* Indonesian Muslims attend the Eid al-Adha prayers in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia (EPA Photo)

* Iraqi Sunni Muslims exchange greetings after prayers at the 17th Ramadan mosque on the first day of Eid al-Adha in Baghdad (AP Photo)

* Muslims pray to mark the first day of Eid al-Adha or "Feast of Sacrifice" holiday, at the main square in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip (AP Photo)

* Muslim going to Eid Al -Adha prayer in Giza, Egypt, 01 September,2017 (EPA Photo)

* Yemeni Muslims hug each other during Eid al-Adha celebrations in the southern port city of Aden (EPA Photo)

* Jordanian Muslims perform prayers during the Muslim Eid al-Adha celebrations in Amman, Jordan, 01 September 2017. (EPA Photo)

* Iraqi policemen stand guard outside a mosque during prayers marking the beginning of Eid al-Adha in Mosul city, northern Iraq (EPA Photo)


* A Jordanian vendor carries a sheep at market during the Muslim Eid al-adha celebrations in Amman, Jordan, 01 September 2017.

* Afghans offer Eid al-Adha prayers in Herat, Afghanistan, 01 September 2017.

* An Afghan boy poses for a photograph as he waits for customers at a livestock market set up for the upcoming Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. (AP Photo)

* An Iraqi mother and her children prepare cookies for the upcoming Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday in Basra, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017. (AP Photo)

* A seller waits for customers to buy his goat as a sacrificial animal for the upcoming Eid al-Adha festival at Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 31 August 2017. (EPA Photo)

* An Iranian man holds a sacrificial sheep to weight it for upcoming Eid al-Adha celebrations are seen at a cattle market in the city of Andisheh, Alborz province, Iran, 30 August 2017. (EPA Photo)

* People visit a cattle livestock market set up for the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017. (AP Photo)

* Vendors wait for customers as they sell sacrificial animals ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival, in Kabul, Afghanistan, 29 August 2017. (EPA Photo)

* Sacrificial animals are on sale ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival, in Kabul, Afghanistan, 29 August 2017. (EPA Photo)

* Child wash sheep at the city cattle market before Eid al-Adha in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 29 August 2017. (EPA Photo)

* A man washes his cattle ahead of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017. (AP Photo)

* A child washes sheep at the city cattle market before Eid al-Adha in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 29 August 2017. (EPA Photo)

* Palestinians gather at a livestock market to buy and sell sacrificial animals ahead of Eid al-Adha in the West Bank city of Hebron, 29 August 2017. (EPA Photo)

* A Yemeni carries a sheep ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival at a livestock market in Sana'a, Yemen, 28 August 2017. (EPA Photo)

* An Egyptian potential buyer holds sheep ahead of the Eid al-Adha at a local market in Kerdasa, Giza, Egypt, 28 August 2017. (EPA Photo)

* A vendor decorates a sacrificial camel ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival, in Karachi, Pakistan, 23 August 2016. (EPA Photo)

* Ibrahim poses with his animal at a cattle market ahead of Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. (AP Photo)