Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi performed Eid Al-Adha prayers on Tuesday morning at the Malik Al-Mulk mosque in Matrouh's New Alamein City, the Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. El-Sisi was accompanied by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Defence Minister Mohamed Zaki, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohamed Farid, senior military leaders, a number of ministers, among others. Eid Al-Adha, which is one of the two main religious holidays in Islam, falls on the 10th day of Dhu Al-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. It marks the beginning of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia and commemorates Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. Egypt announced that the national holidays of Eid Al-Adha, which starts on 20 Juky, and the 69th anniversary of the 23 July 1952 Revolution, which secured the country's independence from British occupation, will span eight days rather than six days to start on 17 July and end on 24 July.
