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AP PHOTOS: Bosnians mark Eid high up on a mountain

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Associated Press

Some 50 residents of the Bosnian village of Lukomir live their lives and celebrate their holidays far above the turmoil of the modern world, protected by the remoteness of their home atop the Bjelasnica mountain.

The aging villagers cherish their physically demanding but placid lifestyle at 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) above sea level. Their regret is that their youth are leaving to embrace the pleasures of the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, set in the foothills of “their” mountain.

The Muslim residents of Lukomir live in shingle-roofed stone houses, some of them built nearly 200 years ago. The tend to their cattle and grow their own food.

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In the evening before the Eid al-Adha holiday, Lukomir villagers clean their small mosque together to prepare for a joint prayer the next morning. On the holiday they share a big lunch, after helping each other slaughter the sacrificial sheep.

Eid al-Adha celebrates the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahiam — Abraham to Jews and Christians — to sacrifice his son.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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