Muslims around the world started celebrating Eid al-Adha, known as the Feast of Sacrifice, on Thursday. Eid al-Adha, which commemorates Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God, is usually an opportunity for Muslim families to come together and enjoy home-cooked meals.
This year, however, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees are spending Eid al-Adha away from home. Four million Syrians have fled the country since civil war broke out in 2011, and for many of them this is not the first time they're commemorating Eid away from their families.
Many Syrian refugees have marked the holiday while traveling to Europe or in refugee camps on the continent. The United Nations refugee agency estimates that 40 percent of the 490,000 refugees and migrants that have arrived in Europe so far this year are Syrian.
A group of refugees performed Eid al-Adha prayers in the town of Edrine, Turkey, as they waited for the borders to open so that they could continue their journey to western Europe. In a registration camp at the Macedonian-Greek border, local volunteers gave out the traditional sweet “baklava” to migrants and refugees, after a Macedonian Imam led the Eid al-Adha prayers. Some spent yet another night traveling on the eve of one of the most important Islamic holidays.
