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THOUSANDS of people visited the processions throughout Bahrain during the weekend to mark Ashoora.
The main processions were in Manama on Saturday morning, but there were other processions in Sanabis, Duraz and other villages in the evening.
Roads in Manama were closed and the entrance to the suq was blocked at several points along Isa Al Kabeer Avenue and Shaikh Hamad Highway.
Traffic was also blocked from Shaikh Abdulla Avenue and Bab Al Bahrain Road.
Hussaini Processions Commission president Hussain Al Alawi said extra work and effort had been put into organising this year's marches to accommodate large numbers of people in the suq.
"We are trying our best to mark this cultural-religious occasion in an appropriate manner," he said.
More than 100 doves were released Friday in a gesture aimed at promoting peace between religions.
Other events to mark the event included a candlelit vigil - sending a message to the world that nobody wants war.
More than 50 children took part in the event.
Events also included a campaign to adopt 1,000 Bahraini orphans, lectures in different languages and a string of cultural and educational events.
An environmental campaign was also launched under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad in the processions area.
Unused medicines were collected to be either used by those who needed them or destroyed if they were out of date.
More than 1,000 men answered an appeal to give blood during the Ninth Imam Hussain Campaign for Blood at Naim Health Centre. In the end, more than 650 donated blood while the rest were put on a waiting list in the event they were needed in future.
