Story highlights Animal sacrifice is part of Eid al-Adha festival

Rivers of blood flow on streets after heavy rain, animal sacrifices

(CNN) In a bizarre consequence of Eid al-Adha celebrations in Bangladesh, animal sacrifices have combined with heavy rains to leave the streets awash with blood.

Shocking photos emerged from the capital Dhaka Wednesday that showed residents wading through streets flooded with a mix of animal blood and rainwater.

Also known as the Feast of Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha commemorates when God appeared to Abraham -- known as Ibrahim to Muslims -- in a dream and asked him to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience.

As Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, God stopped him and gave him a sheep to kill in place of his son. To commemorate God's test of Ibrahim, many Muslim families sacrifice a goat, cow or sheep and share the meat with the poor.

Pakistani men use a crane to lift a young bull from the roof of a building in preparation for the Muslim annual festival of Eid al-Adha or the Festival of Sacrifice, in Karachi on September 4, 2016.

The holiday is the second biggest in the Muslim calendar after Eid al-Fitr, which follows the conclusion of Ramadan.

People wade past a road turned red after blood from sacrificial animals on Eid al-Adha mixed with water from heavy rainfall in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

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