Muslims mark Eid al-Adha holiday amid pandemic restrictions

Muslims in Turkey offer prayers during the first day of Eid al-Adha, outside the Haghia Sophia in the historic Sultan Ahmed district of Istanbul (Mucahid Yapici/AP)

Muslims around the world were observing yet another major Islamic holiday in the shadow of the pandemic and amid growing concerns about the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, is typically marked by communal prayers, large social gatherings and, for many, slaughtering of livestock and giving meat to the needy.