Cairo: Having spent the month of Ramadan for worshipping in Medina, the visiting pilgrims have started to leave the Saudi holy city of Medina, home to the Prophet’s Mosque.
Before departing from the city, which is also famous for Islamic landmarks, the visitors are usually keen to buy souvenirs to offer as gifts to their families and friends back home.
Gold tops the list of shopping in Medina, which is witnessing a high demand particularly from women, the Saudi news agency SPA has reported.
Prices of the precious metal have risen from SR190 to SR240 per gram this year depending on its carat, quality and its manufacture origin, it added.
Eid Al Fitr festival, which marks the end of Ramadan, is usually the peak sale season for gold shops in the vicinity of the Prophet’s Mosque, according to gold traders in the area. The gold stores there are keen to display a wide variety of items to cater to different tastes.
Other items in high demand by visitors before leaving the city are packets of Saudi dates, coffee, prayer rosaries, garments, carpets and cellphones as well as bottles of the holy Zamzam water.
Many visitors are also interested in taking photos of their trips in the holy city before departure.
The Prophet’s Mosque houses Al Rawda Al Sharifa where the tomb of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) is located.
More than 21 million Muslims performed prayers at the Prophet’s Mosque in the first 20 days of Ramadan, up 49 per cent against the same period last year, head of the General Presidency for Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, Abdulrahman Al Sudeis, said earlier this month.
The figure raised to over 169 million the overall numbers of worshippers who performed prayers at the holy site since the beginning of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic lunar calendar, according to the official.
