Turkish Cypriots and other Muslims across Cyprus celebrated the beginning of Eid al-Adha, one of the two main festivals on the Muslim calendar, on Friday.

The festival is celebrated during the last month of the Islamic calendar, Dhu al-Hijja, during which many Muslims from across the world make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Eid al-Adha begins with prayers, which were performed in Cyprus at 6.05am.

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar and his wife Sibel Tatar are to open their official residence in northern Ayios Dhometios, on Nicosia’s western edge, to the public on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, the north’s religious affairs director Hakan Moral invited the public to attend prayers at central Nicosia’s Selimiye mosque, which reopened after five years of renovations last month.

“I hope these blessed days will bring peace to our hearts, abundance to our homes, and unity and solidarity to our nation. May your Eid be blessed, may your tables be abundant, and may your hearts be filled with peace,” he added.

Tatar, meanwhile, released an Eid message of his own.

“We celebrate Eid al-Adha with increasing faith and enthusiasm every year. We should embrace human values such as love, forgiveness, tolerance, sharing, and solidarity, which are at the core of Eid,” he said.

“On this meaningful holiday, when justice, love, and solidarity are felt most strongly, I wholeheartedly believe that all difficulties and troubles will be overcome with solidarity and a sense of responsibility as we look to the future with hope.”