The month of fasting and prayer for hundreds and thousands of muslims all over the world has begun. We bring you images from around the world as the faithful gather to celebrate. With extreme weather conditions being the order of the day in most countries, this Ramzan will be a gruelling month.
A Palestinian boy plays with fireworks to celebrate the holy month of Ramzan, in Gaza City. Muslims observe Ramadan by abstaining from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset. AFP
People play with fireworks to celebrate the holy month of Ramzan, in Gaza City.
A Palestinian boy plays with fireworks to celebrate the holy month of Ramzan, in Gaza City.
Egyptian craftsmen put the final touches on a handmade lantern, used during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramzan, at a workshop in downtown Cairo.
An Afghan vendor makes sweets at his shop in Kabul during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan.
Palestinian man prepares "Qatayef", traditional Arab pancakes, on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan.
Palestinian employee in the al-Natsheh ceramic factory creates oil and candle lamps in Hebron, for the occasion of the holy Muslim month of Ramzan which starts today.
The world's largest clock, which looms over the Grand Mosque in Islam's holiest city of Mecca, starts ticking atop a skyscraper still under construction late to mark the start of the fasting month of Ramzan.
Saudi men gather to spot the moon in the city of Taif as Saudi Arabia's state television Al-Ekhbariyah announced that the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan will start on August 11. The anouncement followed the declaration by the supreme judicial council which is in charge of confirming the sighting of the new moon at the beginning of the lunar month.
A Saudi shopkeeper displays dates ahead of Islam's holy fasting month of Ramzan in the port city of Jeddah. Depending on the sighting of the new moon, Muslims around the world will start ramadan around August 11, when they refrain from eating, drinking and having sex from dawn to dusk.
Palestinians at Jerusalem's old city Damascus Gate walk past Ramadan decorations during the annual holy month of Ramzan. Ramzan is the ninth month of the Muslim Hijri calendar, during which the faithful abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex during daylight and, in the evening, eat small meals and visit friends and family.
Traditional sailing boats known as "feluccas" are decorated for the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramzan in the Nile river in Cairo.
