A boy carries balloons as shoppers stroll through the old market in Damascus ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday on May 26, 2026. Eid al-Adha marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and commemorates the Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God, with the ritual centred on the slaughter of livestock. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)