Cairo: Saudi Arabia has said that the rooftop of the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, has been prepared for worshippers and visitors as their numbers surge during the current holy Islamic month of Ramadan.
The kingdom’s General Presidency for Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has confirmed that all services provided for the faithful on the rooftop of the mosque in Mecca are in “full preparedness,” the Saudi news agency SPA has reported.
Balconies of the rooftop overlooking the circumambulation courtyard of the mosque will be designated for umrah pilgrims while the area behind the balconies will be allocated for other worshippers, the agency added.
Moreover, around 330 employees at the mosque have been assigned regulating and managing the faithful’s access to the rooftop as part of a plan worked out for Ramadan.
The presidency said that all stairs and escalators leading to the site as well as the sound system are in good shape, overseen by a team of specialists ensuring they are free of any defects, SPA reported.
The holy Islamic month of Ramadan is usually the peak season for umrah at the Grand Mosque.
In the run-up to the lunar month, Saudi authorities largely loosened coronavirus-related restrictions and allowed the Grand Mosque and the Prophet Mohammed’s Mosque in Medina to reoperate at full capacity.
Nearly 2 million performed Umrah in the early days of Ramadan, which started on April 2, according to Saudi figures.
