Ramadan 2022 in the Middle East - in pictures

The holy month is being observed amid political crises and soaring prices around the world

Omanis gather as goats are sold ahead of the Eid Al Fitr holiday, in the Surur area of Samail province, 80 kilometres south-west of the capital Muscat. AFP

Iraqi Sunni Muslims gather for the Laylat Al Qadr – Night of Power – in the shrine of cleric Sheikh Abdel Kader Al Gilani, in central Baghdad. EPA

Palestinians pray on Laylat Al Qadr beside the Dome of the Rock shrine, at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, in Jerusalem's Old City. Reuters

A man stares at the dome of a mosque, in Syria's northern city of Raqa. AFP

A volunteer from the charity Violet Org hands out food packages for the suhour meal eaten in Syria's rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib. AFP

Residents of Ezbet Hamada gather to eat during iftar in Mataria, Cairo. Reuters

Ramadan decorations at Global Village, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Syrians break their fast during a gathering organised by various groups in Tadef, near the city of Al Bab, in Aleppo province. AFP

Street traders cut up dessert pastries for sale at a market in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi. AFP

People breaking their fast at Quba Mosque, Madinah, Saudi Arabia. SPA

Fasting Muslim worshippers queue to receive iftar meals, donated by a charity, in Mahboula, south of Kuwait City. AFP

Yemenis read the Quran during Ramadan at a mosque in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen. EPA

People queue outside Al Farooq Mosque in Dubai before sunset, waiting to break their fast. EPA

Shoppers at a market after their iftar meal, in the New Aleppo district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. AFP

An Egyptian dancer performs the traditional tanoura dance at a restaurant in the Omani capital Muscat. AFP

A famous Ramadan lantern inscribed with holy month greetings at Al Hamidiya market in Syria's capital Damascus. AFP

Volunteers stir a pot of rice for a charity iftar at the eighth century Umayyad Mosque in Syria's capital Damascus. AFP

Omanis gather to break their fast on the beach in Muscat. AFP

Cooks employed by the Islamic Charitable Society prepare iftar meals for Palestinian orphans and families in need, in the West Bank city of Hebron. AFP

Iftar is served outside a mosque on the Jazeera State highway in the village of Al Nuba, about 50 kilometres south of Sudan's capital Khartoum. AFP

A worshipper reads the Quran inside a mosque in Syria's northern city of Raqqa. AFP

The first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the shrine of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al Kilani, the former Sunni Muslim preacher, in central Baghdad. AFP

Worshippers attend the first Friday prayer of Ramadan at Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. Reuters

Palestinians cross the Qalandia checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on their way to the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque. Reuters

An Egyptian baker prepares kunafa, a Ramadan dessert favourite, at a market in Cairo. EPA

Dawn awakeners known as musaharatis beat drums to wake Muslims for the suhour meal before the day's Ramadan fast in Damascus, Syria. AFP

Moroccan King Mohammed VI, centre, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, second left, share an iftar meal in Sale, Morocco. AP

Iranian women read the Quran at the shrine of Shah Abdol-Azim in Tehran. Reuters

A Ramadan catch-up at a cafe in Mosul, Iraq. Reuters

Prayer beads are in great demand during Ramadan in Sanaa, Yemen. EPA

A musaharati drummer wakes people for suhour in Manama, Bahrain. Reuters

The old city in Tripoli in Libya is decked with Ramadan decorations. Reuters

Food packets arranged for distribution in Al Najieh, in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province. AFP

Worshippers gather at Al Sahlah Mosque in Kufa, near the city of Najaf, Iraq. Reuters

Iftar at the Prince Mansour Assaf Mosque in central Beirut, Lebanon. EPA

An elderly Palestinian reads the Quran at his shop in the old city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. AFP

Displaced Syrian children return to their camps with boxes of food on the outskirts of the rebel-held town of Dana, in Idlib province. AFP

Ramadan lanterns at a shop in Beirut. AP

A Palestinian man carries a tray of qatayef, traditional Arabic dumplings, in Rafah, southern Gaza. AFP

A cannon is fired at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi to mark the end of fasting on the first day of Ramadan. Victor Besa / The National

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