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| Source: PRNewsfoto/Ministry of Culture Saudi Arabia. The Great Mosque of Makkah, the largest mosque in the world. |
KSA has to date welcomed 1.497 million pilgrims who have arrived in the country in preparation for the annual Hajj, which is due to begin on August 30, 2017. The kingdom is expecting to welcome around two million international pilgrims in total.
As one of the five pillars of Islam, the annual pilgrimage to Makkah, KSA is mandatory for physically and financially capable Muslims at least once in their lives. The responsibility for organising the pilgrimage is handled by the KSA government under direct supervision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman; a massive logistical undertaking that will run until the Hajj ends on 4 September, 2017.
The plans include Mina, which is also known as the City of Tents as it hosts tens of thousands of air-conditioned tents as temporary accommodation for a significant portion of the pilgrims expected to take part in Hajj this year. Mina is located between Mount Arafat and Makkah's Grand Mosque. The tents are arranged in rows and grouped into areas labelled with numbers and colours according to nationality. Every pilgrim is given a badge with an assigned number and colour to help them find the way back to their tent if they get lost. To prevent fires, the tents are constructed of Teflon-coated fibreglass, and are fitted with sprinklers and fire extinguishers.
Saudi officials have prepared to receive the influx of pilgrims, many of whom also visit Madinah. The Hajj team deployed on the ground speaks over a dozen languages to ensure that the needs of pilgrims are met. Some statistics include:
- More than 17,000 highly trained personnel, supported by 3,000 advanced vehicles, are in position to guarantee pilgrims the highest level of safety.
- Three hundred ground ambulances, 30 motorbikes, 113 ambulance centres and eight air ambulances
- Over 2,000 Saudi Red Crescent Authority personnel deployed in Makkah, Madinah and other holy sites to provide ambulance services to pilgrims during Hajj
The number of foreign pilgrims has multiplied exponentially over the years. There were just 24,000 in 1941 and 1.325 million in 2016. Including pilgrims that reside in KSA, a total of 1.86 million Muslims performed the Hajj last year.
posted from Bloggeroid