Qatar celebrates Eid al-Adha with fervour, festivities

Fervour and festivities marked Eid al-Adha celebrations across Qatar Wednesday, starting early morning when the faithful converged at mosques and prayer grounds chanting Eid Takbeer.
The prayer started at 5.01am and the mosques along with prayer grounds received huge numbers of faithful. Awqaf in coordination with the Ministry of Municipality and the Ministry of Interior (MoI) had made all arrangements for the prayers.
Apart from the Grand Mosque, Qatar Foundation's Education City Stadium and Msheireb Downtown Doha topped the list of favourites for Eid prayers.
Many Doha residents opted to take their families and friends to the Grand Mosque where they had impressive views of the Doha skyline after the prayer. “For a long time, the mosque remains to be my Eid prayer destination. The eye-catching graceful arches and other characteristics of Islamic architectural tradition make the mosque an ideal place to hold special prayers,” said Mohamed Ashraf, who reached the mosque along with his friend from Bahrain Wednesday morning.
With its distinguished cultural and architectural features, Msheireb’s historic Eid Prayer Ground also drew hundreds of faithful. Msheireb Properties restored the space to preserve Qatar’s heritage and a piece of history dating back to the founding of Doha. In order to transport the believers to Msheireb Downtown Doha and Education City Stadium, Doha Metro started its services at 4.30 am.
Eid prayer grounds recorded a huge flow of believers with many opting to go there while planning meetings with friends. “In fact, the prayer grounds are all about the celebrations. I like to come here for a host of reasons. There is a life in this open space while people from different communities across the world hold their prayers. This place lends an opportunity to meet the friends and wish them,” said Mohamed Shafi, who attended the prayer at Al Wakra Eid prayer ground along with his friends.
The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf) distributed Eid gifts to kids who accompanied their parents to mosques and prayer grounds.