Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, began earlier this week, with the observation of the Hilal, or new moon. Throughout this ninth month on the Islamic calendar, devout Muslims must abstain from food, drink, and sex from dawn until sunset. The fast, one of the five pillars of Islam, is seen as a time for spiritual reflection, prayers, and charity. After sunset, Muslims traditionally break the fast by eating three dates, performing the Maghrib prayer, and sitting down to Iftar, the main evening meal, where communities and families gather together. Gathered here are images of Muslims around the world observing Ramadan this year, including areas of recent turmoil, like Egypt and Turkey. [33 photos]
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A Yemeni girl wearing traditional costume, attends a festival for children to welcome the Holy month of Ramadan in the old city of Sanaa, Yemen, on July 8, 2013. Muslims throughout the world including Yemen prepared for the holy fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar with the dawn-to-dusk fast, prayers and spiritual introspection. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
Muslim clerics scan the horizon for the crescent moon that will determine the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Jakarta, Indonesia, on July 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim) #
Egyptians shop in a market on the eve of Ramadan, the sacred holy month for Muslims where many will fast from sun-up to sun-down, on July 9, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) #
A Palestinian man reads verses from the Quran, Islam's holy book, at al-Omari mosque on the first day of Ramadan, on July 10, 2013 in Gaza City. (Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images) #
An Afghan worker carries sweets at a traditional factory ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) #
A Pakistani Muslim performs ablutions before evening prayer at historical Wazir Khan mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, on July 10, 2013.(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary) #
Turkish anti-government protesters gather as they break their first day of fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Istiklal street, the main shopping corridor, on July 9, 2013 in Istanbul. (Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images) #
Thousands of people sit on Istiklal Avenue, in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 9, 2013. Thousands broke the fast on the first day of Ramadan in a kind of spontaneous form of protest sitting in a line of some hundred meters from Galatasaray University to Taksim Square on the street chanting slogans while eating together. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer) #
Anti-government protesters eat as they break their fast on the first day Ramadan as police officers take position at Taksim Square in Istanbul, on July 9, 2013. Turkish police allowed thousands of protesters who have been trying to block the redevelopment of a park in Istanbul to break their Ramadan fast on Tuesday before resuming efforts to get them to leave the area. (Reuters/Osman Orsal) #
Turkish anti-government protesters break their first day of fasting for of Ramadan on Istiklal street, on July 9, 2013 in Istanbul.(Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images) #
A Palestinian arranges dates for sale on the first day of Ramadan in a market in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on July 10, 2013.(Reuters/Mohamad Torokman) #
Students perform an afternoon prayer on the first day of Ramadan, at Ar-Raudlatul Hasanah Islamic boarding school in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, on July 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara) #
An Indonesian woman plays a game on her tablet during a sermon on the first night of Ramadan at the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta, on July 9, 2013. (Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images) #
Students perform an afternoon prayer on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Ar-Raudlatul Hasanah Islamic boarding school in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, on July 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara) #
Muslims pray in the first Tarawih to mark the start of the month of Ramadan in Cheng Ho Mosque on July 9, 2013 in Surabaya, Indonesia.(Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images) #
A child walks near members of the Muslim community attending midday prayers at Strasbourg Grand Mosque in Strasbourg, France on the first day of Ramadan, July 9, 2013. (Reuters/Vincent Kessler) #
A child leans down near members of the Muslim community attending midday prayers at Strasbourg Grand Mosque in Strasbourg, France on the first day of Ramadan, July 9, 2013. (Reuters/Vincent Kessler) #
Israeli Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men walk past Ramadan decorations, in the old city of Jerusalem on July 7, 2013, as people prepare for the upcoming Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images) #
Mosque workers prepare food for distribution to the poor and Muslims who come to break their fast at Noor Mosque in Nairobi, Kenya, on July 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim) #
A pastry chef holds a tray of Arabic sweets at his bakery in Gaza City on the eve of the start of Ramadan, on July 9, 2013.(Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images) #
Muslims attend an evening communal prayer session called "Tarawih" to mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Bajrakli mosque in Belgrade, Serbia, on July 9, 2013. (Reuters/Marko Djurica) #
A woman looks at products as she buys food supplies at a supermarket, as Muslims prepare for the fasting month of Ramadan in Dubai, on July 8, 2013. (Reuters/Jumana El Heloueh) #
A Palestinian arranges qatayef, a dessert traditionally eaten during Ramadan, for sale on the first day of Ramadan in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on July 10, 2013. (Reuters/Mohamad Torokman) #
Floral offerings are laid out for visitors making pilgrimages to visit the graves of family members before Ramadan, on July 9, 2013 in Surabaya, Indonesia. (Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images) #
A family reads verses from the Koran at a relative's grave in a cemetery, a day before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in Jakarta, on July 9, 2013. Traditionally Indonesian Muslims will visit the graves of their relatives before and towards the end of the the holy month.(Reuters/Enny Nuraheni) #
People nap while waiting to break their fast in Istiqlal mosque during the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Jakarta, on July 10, 2013. (Reuters/Enny Nuraheni) #
A woman sells dates and cereals in a street market in Abobo, suburb of Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on July 9, 2013, on the first day of Ramadan. (Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images) #
Muslims attend an evening communal prayer session called "Tarawih" to mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Bajrakli mosque in Belgrade, Serbia, on July 9, 2013. (Reuters/Marko Djurica) #
Indonesian Muslim women hold prayers on the first night of the holy month of Ramadan at the Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta, on July 9, 2013.(Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images) #
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