Cairo: Around 3 million worshippers have got access to the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca over the first 20 days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that began on April 13, a Saudi official has said.
The figure includes nearly 1 million Umrah pilgrims and 2 million other worshippers allowed into the holy site to perform prayers amid stringent precautions against COVID-19.
“All resources have been utilised to ensure comfort of all worshippers,” Eng. Osama Al Hejeili, the head of the Grouping Directorate, said.
“Precautionary measures including physical distancing have been implemented to protect safety of visitors of the Grand Mosque amid integration of services provided to meet needs of the worshippers,” he added.
Cairo: The number of tracks designated for encircling the Holy Kaaba in the Grand Mosque has increased by 11 tracks to reach 25, a Saudi official has said.
The General Presidency for Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has rearranged the tracks in the circumambulation courtyard in the holy site, introducing more tracks, Eng. Osama Al Hejeili, the head of the Grouping Directorate, said.
Four tracks are designated for the elderly worshippers and people with special needs.
“This is part of efforts to ensure comfort for the Umrah pilgrims while implementing precautionary measures and physical distancing for their safety,” he added.
The official said that the General Presidency is operating at full capacity during the current holy month of Ramadan to serve the Umrah pilgrims and has allocated the whole circumambulation courtyard of the Grand Mosque for the pilgrims. He urged the Umrah pilgrims to abide by the timings specified to them to have access to the mosque and perform the ritua
Cairo: Waiting halls for the Umrah pilgrims have been launched at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca as part of a new expansion to the sacred site, Saudi media said.
The new halls, part of the King Fahad expansion project, can accommodate about 2,000 pilgrims at one time to ease congestion when tracks for the circumambulation ritual around the Holy Kaaba become full of worshippers, a Saudi official said.
“The halls were opened to facilitate the process of assembling the Umrah pilgrims in groups and directing them to the waiting halls,” head of the Pilgrim Grouping Directorate at the Grand Mosque, Eng. Osama Al Hejeili, said.
Cairo: Saudi authorities have designated 18 tracks for worshippers to circumambulate the holy Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Mecca to cope with an increase of visitors and curb the spread of COVID-19, an official has said.
Saudi Arabia has increased capacity of the Grand Mosque in the holy month of Ramadan to reach 50,000 Umrah pilgrims and 100,000 worshippers per day. Ramadan is usually a peak season for the Umrah or minor pilgrimage.
Fourteen circumambulation tracks are designated in the courtyard of the mosque around the Kaaba with marked signs on the floor to ensure physical distancing during the ritual. The four others are designated on the first floor of the mosque to be used when the need arises.