Ramadan 2021: the best photos from around the region in pictures

From prayers and charity to the humble iftar. Take a look at some of the best photos of the holy month

People visit the Ramadan Reflection room at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

An aerial view shows the Grand Mosque complex in Makkah during the first day of the holy month. AFP

Ramadan decorations in City Walk, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A general view of the Dubai Skyline on April 30, 2021 in Dubai. Getty Images

A vendor packs dried fruits and nuts for customers at an open-air market in Sanaa. AFP

Worshippers pray at Gaza City's Al Khaledi Mosque on April 30, 2021. AFP

People pray at a mosque in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Getty Images

April's full moon rises over Jerusalem's Damascus Gate. AFP

A Pakistani boy reads verses from the Quran in Peshawar. EPA

Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Fujairah during Ramadan. AFP

A camel hrder walks with his camels early morning on May 5, 2021 in Dubai. Getty Images

A Syrian vendor displays the traditional Ramadan sweet known as "al-Naem" in Damascus. AFP

The crescent moon at the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque at Al Bahia, Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa/The National

Girls play as Palestinian Walid Al Hattab distributes soup to people in need in Gaza City. AFP

Al Noor Mosque in Sharjah on the second day of Ramadan after sunset. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A worshipper during Friday prayers at Al Jaffali mosque during Ramadan, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, April 30. AP

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, on the first evening of Ramadan 2021. Victor Besa / The National Section

A member of the moon sighting committee looks through a telescope to view the moon ahead of Ramadan near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Reuters

A cannon fires to denote the end of fasting at the Burj Khalifa. Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A gentleman puts up Ramadan lights in Sustainable City. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Workers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant in al-Fateh mosque as it is being prepared for prayers in Cairo. EPA

Ramadan lanterns on sale in Cairo, where a festive mood has taken hold ahead of the start of the holy month. Reuters

Ramadan lights along the Abu Dhabi Corniche, April 5, 2021. Victor Besa / The National

The UAE has throughout the years created economic zones to boost and diversify its economy. AFP

Ramadan decoration at Dubai Mall in Dubai on April 22, 2021. Pawan Singh / The National. Story by Katy Gillet

Cannon fire at Al Majaz Waterfront in Sharjah on the second day of Ramadan. Chris Whiteoak / The National

People break their fast in Karachi, Pakistan. EPA

Worshippers read the Quran Koran in Najaf. AFP

People visit the Al-Qasim Mosque in Hilla, Iraq. Reuters

Volunteers from the Adliya Charity prepare meals in Manama. Reuters

Muslims maintaining social distance perform their Tarawee prayers in Manama, Bahrain. Reuters

Iraqis share a collective iftar in Mosul, on April 15, 2021. AFP

Muslim pilgrims circumambulate around the Kaaba during Umrah. AP Photo

A Shiite cleric reads the Quran on Laylat Al Qadr (Night of Destiny) which marks the night in which the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Mohammed, at the Imam Ali shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf, on May 1, 2021. AFP

An Iraqi worker prepares traditional sweets for sale during the holy fasting month of Ramadan at a shop in Baghdad, Iraq. Reuters

This picture taken during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, from the Mecca Royal Clock Tower of the Abraj al-Bait skyscraper complex, shows an aerial view of Muslim worshippers around the Kaaba (unseen), the holiest shrine in the Grand Mosque complex in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca. AFP

People watch a whirling dervish perform during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a tradition ahead of the Fitr feast, in Lebanon's southern city of Saida. Dervishes are adepts of Sufism, a mystical form of Islam that preaches tolerance and a search for understanding. Those who whirl, like planets around the sun, turn dance into a form of prayer. AFP

Muslim men pray at Fatmah Mosque in Kuwait city just before daybreak, during Laylat al-Qadr, which falls on the 27th day of the holy month of Ramadan. Laylat al-Qadr, the most important prayer of the fasting month, is the night Muslims commemorate the revelation of the first verses of the Quran to their prophet Mohammed through the angel Gabriel. Muslims spend the night in worship and devotion, praying for the souls of the dead. AFP

A Muslim worshipper takes part in evening prayers called "Tarawih" on Laylat al-Qadr or Night of Decree, outside Amr Ibn El-Aas Mosque on the holy fasting month of Ramadan, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in old Cairo, Egypt. Reuters

Palestinians pray on Laylat al-Qadr during the holy month of Ramadan, at the compound that houses Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City. Reuters

Muslim worshippers pray on Laylat al-Qadr (Night of Destiny) during the holy month of Ramadan, at the Al-Azhar Mosque in the Egyptian capital Cairo. AFP

A shop attendant puts up an Eid Mubarak sticker on a shop window in the mall. Eid decorations in Festival City Mall with shoppers preparing for Eid on May 10th, 2021. Antonie Robertson / The National.

Eid Mubarak lights at the Corniche in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National.

More on Ramadan:

Meet the Baghdad drummer waking his neighbours on the banks of the Tigris

My first Ramadan: 'Fasting wasn't easy, I stumbled on day one'

Traders in Meena Bazaar in Dubai hopeful as anticipation builds for Eid Al Fitr

Ramadan recipes: daily dishes to try from the 'Table Tales' series