Grand Mosque’s expansion. Thursday, 3 October 2013
With the numbers of hajj pilgrims increasing year on year, the Saudi government has authorized expansion projects that will make the journey to the Grand Mosque easier and less stressful for visiting Muslims.
Millions of Muslims arrive in Makkah to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage every year.
Over the past decade, the government has spent billions of dollars expanding the Grand Mosque.
The expansion projects in the Grand Mosque, known as the Masjid al-Haram, began around 88 years ago, when Saudi King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman began the initiative.
Infographic: The grand mosque ...>(Please click/double click on the image for a close-up view tq) (Design by Farwa Rizwan
Dubbed by Makkah’s governor as the biggest project in the kingdom’s history, the Grand Mosque is undergoing its largest expansion project to date, under the leadership of King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz.
The project aims to increase the mosque’s capacity so it will be able to accommodate around two million worshippers at a time.
It also involves the construction of bridges and pedestrian pathways to facilitate the movement of worshippers.
The expansion project also aims to provide new health centers, water and electricity stations and civil defense offices in the mosque complex.
★May Allah swt help,protect and guide all muslims~Amin!★
KINGDOM Stiff measures against :illegal Hajis a pay off. Thursday, 10 October 2013 - 05 Dzul-Hijjah 1434 H News.
TAIF — The new security measures applied this year have resulted in a large reduction of illegal pilgrims. These measures include fingerprints, and a deterrent penalty of deporting the violators who are also banned from entering the country for 10 years.
A number of pilgrim smugglers have said that they have abandoned their activities which are contrary to government regulations, and a number of residents have also said that they will not risk going to Haj without a permit, as the penalties are very deterrent.
Security points along Taif-Makkah Road are almost deserted of pedestrian pilgrims, in contrast to last year’s Haj season. In addition, vehicles used by smugglers have disappeared from gas stations where illegal pilgrims used to gather.
A pilgrim smuggler said that he was detained and fined last year for smuggling illegal pilgrims. In addition, his vehicle was confiscated, and that he will not again think of smuggling illegal pilgrims. He said that the penalties are very deterrent, and security bodies are very alert to such activities. He said that although smuggling pilgrims is a very lucrative business, it is against the government regulations.
Legal pilgrims pay large amounts of money, and come from distant parts of the world to perform their Haj. Illegal pilgrims are a nuisance to them, as they cause the crowding of roads and transportation.
Another pilgrim smuggler said that this year there is a huge reduction of illegal pilgrims smuggling. He added that this has affected the prices of vehicles that were used in the smuggling operations. He pointed out that smugglers used to collect their customers along Taif-Makkah Road, which has become virtually deserted now. A number of shops, cafeterias, and restaurants in gas stations confirmed the absence of smugglers this year.
Many residents said that they will not risk going to Haj without a permit. They will not subject themselves to deportation and to be banned from entering the country for 10 years.
Hajj News. Thursday, 10 October 2013 - 05 Dzul-Hijjah 1434 H News.
7 hurt as strong winds, rain hit Mina, Arafat
Rain water flows under a bridge as Arafat and Mina were hit by strong winds and rain. — SPA
MAKKAH — Seven people sustained mild injuries as rain accompanied by strong winds hit Mina and Arafat on Wednesday afternoon. Col. Abdullah Al-Harthy, spokesman of the Civil Defense Forces in Haj, said that the holy sites received moderate rain causing damage to some of the temporary tents being erected by workers in Arafat. Vehicles of some citizens were also damaged by flying debris from zinc alloys used for fencing tents as the wind blew them into the air, he said. “Immediately after receiving a warning from the Presidency of Meteorology & Environment (PME) about the possibility of rainfall and strong winds in Makkah and the holy sites, the Civil Defense swung into action and took all precautionary and safety measures to handle any emergency situations.
“We evacuated almost all workers from Arafat, in addition to deploying rescue teams supplied with equipment,” he said. There was rain during the inspection tour of Interior Minister Prince Muhammad at the holy sites. — SPA
~May Allah swt grant us help for a very smooth hajj operations~Amin!
Pilgrims get set for journey of a lifetime Last updated: Thursday, October 10, 2013 12:06 AM ~News.
MAKKAH – With only a few days remaining for the start of the annual pilgrimage of Haj, the Saudi authorities have finalized all preparations for the five-day rituals.
This year about two million pilgrims are expected to perform Haj, after the Kingdom announced a crackdown on illegal pilgrims and imposed restrictions to cut foreigners by 20 percent and domestic pilgrims by 50 percent because of the ongoing expansion work at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.
The expansion work would increase the area of the mosque by 400,000 square meters (4.3 million square feet), raising its capacity to accommodate 2.2 million people at the same time.
Saudi officials have said the cuts will apply for two more years until the first phase of the multi-billion-dollar work is completed to expand the capacity for worshipers.
Last year a total of 3.2 million pilgrims, including 1.75 million foreigners, performed the pilgrimage. Those from abroad came from 190 countries. Monday marks the most important day when all pilgrims assemble at Mount Arafat for the high point of Haj. Authorities in the Kingdom have mobilized health services in Makkah and the holy sites which together have 25 public hospitals with 5,250 beds and hundreds of scattered medical centers.
Saudi authorities have appealed to ill and elderly people to avoid Haj this year although Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said last month he was optimistic the pilgrimage will pass without outbreaks of the deadly MERS-coronavirus.
Health officials have also appealed to pilgrims to use masks that cover the nose and mouth because MERS, short for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, can be transmitted through the air.
Saudi security officials have warned pilgrims against exploiting the Haj season to demonstrate or raise political slogans, warning this will be dealt with harshly. – AFP
~May Allah swt grant us smooth hajj operations~Amin!
Kingdom
Saudi Al Arabiah
News
Last updated: Monday, October 14, 2013 12:18 AM MAKKAH — The central department for the development of Mashair projects in the Ministry of Municipalities has published a guide for pilgrims using Mashair trains.
The guides include maps of the locations of camps for each train station at Mina, Muzdalifah, and Arafat, details of ticket colors used by pilgrims, train schedules, times of maintenance and the color of the wrist bands that will allow pilgrims to pass through the electronic gates in each station.
The Ministry has designated beige-colored wrist bands for stations No. 1 in Mina, Muzdalifah, and Arafat, dark brown for pilgrims using stations No. 2 and brown for stations No. 3 in the Mashair.
Black-colored wristbands are designated for all stations used by pilgrims during the Haj days from the tenth to the thirteenth of Dhul Hijja.
The Ministry stressed that wrist bands are only valid when worn on the wrist and become null and void if cut. The wrist bands are only valid for the days indicated on them and at the stations indicated by the color of the wrist bands.
Train stations No. 1 and 2 will serve 140,000 pilgrims each at the three holy places of Mina, Muzdalifah, and Arafat. Train stations No. 3 will serve 120,000 pilgrims and the total number of tickets will be 370,000.
Tickets are issued based on approved documents from the Ministry of Haj, which include the number of pilgrims and their camp locations, in addition to special permits of Tawafa establishments and Haj companies.
Tickets are issued and signed for by an official of the establishment who is committed to distributing the tickets to pilgrims.
Special tents to combat chemical pollution Last updated: Monday, October 14, 2013 1:01 PM
MINA — The Ministry of Health has set up special tents in the holy sites for initial handling of any cases of exposure by pilgrims to chemical pollution.
“It is a precautionary measure that we have taken to face any unexpected incidents,” said Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah following a field inspection visit on the readiness of the MOH Center of Emergency and Field Medicine in Al-Muaisim in Mina.
The minister assured that no cases of Mers-CoV infection that still causes fear among pilgrims, or any communicable disease was detected among pilgrims.
“We are more hopeful, with the will of Allah, to have this year a Haj season that is safe, successful and free of serious sicknesses that threatens the life of pilgrims, “ he told reporters.
The minister said the Ministry of Health’s preparedness is on a high scale to save the lives of the pilgrims, and based on its long proven track record and expertise in mass gathering medicine and epidemic surveillance of pilgrims coming from all over the world it is geared in cooperation with World Health Organization.
After inspection of the emergency and field medicine fleet, Al-Rabeeah expressed his satisfaction at the readiness of the fleet and the state-of-art equipment used in each vehicle, the fleet and the expertise, in addition to the system developed to track the movement of each vehicle.
The ministry is also using a host of methods to handle sunstroke cases among pilgrims. “Besides the ambulances that are equipped to deal with these kind of cases, there are emergency departments and intensive care units at the hospitals that have been provided with advanced equipment,” hesaid.
Dr. Tarik Arnos, an official in the ministry said field fleet of ambulances has been increased to 135 by adding 50 new small size advanced ambulances that can easily get into crowded areas, to its 85 existing large ambulances.
He mentioned that the fleet is run by a control center that uses GPS for better and accurate reach to the patients location in the very crowded Haj areas carrying patients to appropriate healthcare facility in record time.
He also mentioned that the ministry this year has mobilized medical teams at 18 stop points on the train route in the holy sites in Arafat and Mina, in cooperation with the Red Crescent and the Ministry of Municipality and Rural Affairs. 8 open heart and 110 catheterization made Meanwhile, eight open heart operations were conducted on pilgrims since the beginning of this season up till 6th day of Dhul Hijja. Also, around 110 catheterization procedures were made to pilgrims during the same period. Al-Rabeeah revealed this during the tour of East Arafat Hospital, Namera Hospital, Mount Arafat Hospital, and Mina Al Wadi Hospital.
He directed all healthcare personnel in these facilities to do their best to serve the Guests of Allah and provide them with the highest level of healthcare.
He said the healthcare facilities are all provide with dialyses equipment and have conducted over 300 dialysis sessions to pilgrims. The Minister said that 25 hospitals and 141 primary healthcare centers were put under the disposal of pilgrims at Haj zones in Makkah, Madinah, and other holy sites.
Sudanese pilgrim, Abdulgafour Othman, 55, said that prior to his coming to the Kingdom for Haj he felt a mild pain in his chest but he decided to continue his Haj trip. After performing Umrah upon his arrival, the pain increased and he suffered difficulties in breathing. He was moved to a nearby hospital where physicians decided to transfer him to King Abdullah Medical City (KAMC) for blockage in some heart arteries.
At the KAMC, a cardiologist confirmed the blockage of two arteries, so an operation was conducted to him using state-of-the-art equipment. Now he is in good condition.
An Indonesian pilgrim, Surando, 50, arrived to the Kingdom two weeks ago. Following his arrival he felt a pain in his chest and after being diagnosed at KAMC of a blockage in his heart arteries an open heart surgery was conducted. He is to be discharged soon.
Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, 29, too encountered sudden pain in his chest and after checking up at Yanbu Hospital, a blockage in some heart arteries was discovered. He was transferred to KAMC where a blockage in two arteries and a damaged valve was found. Accordingly an operation to remove the blockage and to fix the damage was conducted and he is in good condition waiting for additional operations after Haj. Masha'allah Alhamdulillah!
1.38m pilgrims from 118 countries performing Haj Last updated: Monday, October 14, 2013 10:53 AM
MINA – About 1.38 million pilgrims from 118 countries arrived in the Kingdom to perform Haj this year, Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee Prince Muhammad Bin Naif announced here Sunday.
In a cable sent to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, the minister said the arrival of the pilgrims has been smooth and trouble-free.
“This is due to success granted by Allah swt and because of the utmost care and guidance extended by the King and the Crown Prince,” the cable said.
Prince Muhammad said of the 1,379,531 foreign pilgrims, 752,424 were men representing 55 percent and 627,107 women forming 45 percent.
The number of foreign pilgrims this year was less by 377,439 (21 percent) compared to last year. The number of pilgrims who arrived by air was over 1.29 million. Over 72,000 pilgrims arrived here by sea and 14,898 by land, Prince Muhammad said. — SPA
