Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Directs to Benefit from Grand Mosques’ Expansion | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Muslim pilgrims circle counterclockwise Islam’s holiest shrine, the Kaaba, at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia’s holy Muslim city of Mecca late on September 26, 2015. (AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH)


Makkah-Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has issued his directives to take advantage of the available places and sites at the expansion’s building and the north, west and south open yards as well as the parts of east open yards of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ expansion program of the Grand Mosque. King Salman also called for benefiting from all floors of the project of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to raise the capacity of Mataf (or circumambulation) up to 107,000 pilgrims per hour.

This represents the keenness of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his blessed efforts in serving Islam and Muslims, especially Hajj and Umrah performers.

Before the commencement of Hajj rituals, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stated that it’s Saudi Arabia’s honor to serve the pilgrims and to employ the financial potentials and human resources to deliver this great Islamic message. The Crown Prince added that the state sectors and authorities are constantly working on providing high-quality services and facilities on various levels.

In the same context, security authorities in Makkah caught around 189 violators of Hajj regulations, 22 fictitious Hajj campaigns and 48 vehicles transporting violators. The authorities also ordered around 85,000 vehicles to return.

Moreover, the General Authority of Civil Aviation completed successfully the first phase of Hajj preparations after receiving up to 1,200 million pilgrims through King Abdulaziz International Airport, which hosted on Wednesday around 700,000 pilgrims, and Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Airport, which received 545,153 pilgrims.

To facilitate the movements of pilgrims, Saudi Arabian Scouts Association issued six guidance maps that were uploaded on Google Earth. These maps cover the main roads, streets, hotels, departments and government authorities in Makkah and Medina.