CAIRO (AFP)-Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi of Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest authority, called for greater human understanding and compassion at the start of Eid Al-Adha.

Sheikh Tantawi, leading the Eid prayer at a mosque in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, urged families to strengthen their bonds in a sermon, marking the holiday when Muslims around the world slaughter sheep to mark Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God.

"Islamic feasts were ordained as a chance to exchange visits, to show human understanding and compassion for one another," he said in a sermon attended by President Hosni Mubarak, quoted by the state-run MENA news agency.

"They are always happy occasions when we see our mothers and when faith and peace prevail," said Sheikh Tantawi at the Eid prayer, which falls as the highlight of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

As 66,000 Egyptian pilgrims continued their pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, Cairo's top hotels were filling with Saudi and other Arab holidaymakers at one of Egypt's busiest seasons for visitors, hotel staff said.

Eid al-Adha is a public holiday in Egypt and many other countries around the world with majority Muslim populations.

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