Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

The holy Muslim month of Ramadan started for millions of believers across the globe on May 5.

During the month Muslims fast from dawn to dusk each day for the entire month of Ramadan, abstaining from food and drink and engaging in intense nightly worship, in addition to five daily prayers. For those fasting, that means around 15 hours without food, water, cigarettes or any caffeine.

Ramadan fasting is aimed at drawing worshippers closer to God through self-control, remembrance and humility. It is also a festive time where families and friends gather for evening meals known as "iftar."

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

People break their fast in a street of Kadıköy district in Istanbul, during of the holy month of Ramadan. (AFP Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

People eat iftar in the Piroozi neighborhood of Tehran, Iran. (AA Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

A Palestinian family, whose house was destroyed in a recent Israeli attack, have an iftar meal on the street in Rafah, Gaza Strip. (AA Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

A Palestinian family share an iftar meal in the southern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Khan Yunis. (AFP Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

Commuters ride past plates of iftar food placed for residents to break their fast along a street in Karachi, Pakistan. (AFP Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

People buy iftar food before breaking their fast in Quetta, Pakistan. (AFP Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

Volunteers serve iftar food prior to break their fast under a bridge of metrobus in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AFP Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

Sudanese men sit together as they are served iftar, at their protest outside the army headquarters in capital Khartoum. (AFP Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

Khartoum, Sudan. (AFP Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

Khartoum, Sudan. (AFP Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

A Dutch Muslim family eats during iftar in Rotterdam, Netherlands. (AFP Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

Iraqis, most of them displaced, receive free food for their families, distributed for iftar at the Abdul Kader al-Kilani Mosque in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

A general aerial view shows Muslims gathering to eat iftar at Al-Azhar Mosque in the old Islamic area of Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

A displaced Yemeni family that fled from fighting in Taiz, eats an iftar meal in its hut in a slum on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen. (Reuters Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

Street vendors prepare iftar food for Muslim devotees before breaking their fast at a traditional bazaar in the old part of Dhaka, Bangladesh. (AFP Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

Muslim men wait to have their iftar meals inside a mosque in Kolkata, India. (Reuters Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

A volunteer serves food outside a mosque before iftar in Manama, Bahrain. (Reuters Photo)

Iftar, a festive evening meal during holy month of Ramadan

Muslims distribute food as they wait to have their iftar meals outside a mosque in Manama, Bahrain. (Reuters Photo)