Islamic hajj

Hajj pilgrims touch the wall of the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest site, in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca on Saturday. About 2 1/2 million Muslims are expected to take part in the pilgrimage to Mecca this year.

(Sedat Suna / EPA/Shutterstock)

Aug. 19, 2018 11:25 AM PT

Muslims from around the world will take part in the hajj pilgrimage to the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, which holds Islam’s most sacred site, the cube-shaped Kaaba. Any many are preparing for Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, during which Muslims slaughter livestock and split the meat into three parts, one for the family, one for friends and relatives, and one for the poor and needy.

People watch as worshippers circle the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Friday, prior to the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the holy city.

(Ahmad al Rubaye / AFP/Getty Images)

Hajj Pilgrimage 2018, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

The Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday.

(Sedat Suna / EPA/Shutterstock)

People unload sacrificial animals to be displayed for sale at a market ahead of the holy festival of Eid al Adha, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Saturday.

(Monirul Alam /EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

A vendor carries a sheep while waiting for customers at a livestock market in Kuwait City on Saturday, ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

(Yasser al Zayyat / AFP/Getty Images)

Muslim pilgrims pray around the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Saturday.

(Mohammed Saber / EPA/Shutterstock)

People from Iraqi Kurdistan cross the Tigris river at the Semalka crossing to visit family on the Syrian side on Saturday, ahead of Eid.

(Delil Souleiman / AFP/Getty Images)

Muslim pilgrims pray around the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Saturday.

(Mohammed Saber / EPA/Shutterstock)

Muslim Hajj pilgrims touch the wall of the Kaaba on Saturday.

(SEDAT SUNA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Pakistani vendors load a camel on a van at a livestock market in Lahore on Sunday, ahead of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.

(ARIF ALI / AFP/Getty Images)

Sacrificial animals arrive by boat for sale at a market ahead of the holy festival of Eid al-Adha, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Saturday.

(Monirul Alam / EPA/Shutterstock)

A boy pulls an animal he bought for the festival of sacrifice from a market in Sana, Yemen, on Saturday.

(Yahya Arhab / EPA/Shutterstock)

Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, early Friday.

(Dar Yasin / Associated Press)

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Islamic hajj

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