Eid-ul-Azha celebrated in Delhi

New Delhi: Thousands of people in the city thronged mosques and Idgahs, offered prayers and exchanged greetings in the spirit of brotherhood to celebrate the festival of Eid-ul-Azha on Friday.

Faithful congregated at Jama Masjid, Fatehpuri Masjid and the mosques in Seelampur, Jaffrabad, Seemapuri and Mustafad, among other areas, where they offered prayers and greeted 'Eid Mubarak' to others.

Dressed in traditional attire people visited homes of their friends and relatives and exchanged gifts.

The celebrations in the city took place amid elaborate security arrangements made by Delhi Police to prevent any untoward incident.

Clerics and community leaders delivered sermons on the festive occasion, also know as Bakr-Id, which occurs the day after pilgrims performing Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Mount Arafat.

The festival is celebrated approximately 70 days after the end of the month of Ramadan, which is celebrated as Eid-ul-Fitr. Animal sacrifices are also performed as a ritual to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael, as an act of obedience to god.