Ramadan 2025: Colour coding introduced to guide pilgrims to Grand Mosque

Cairo: Saudi authorities have updated a guidance strategy in the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest in Mecca, using colour coding to facilitate an influx of worshippers during the current month of Ramadan.

Accordingly, the sprawling site and its courtyards are divided into four main areas, each with a different colour. The colours extend to the central area surrounding the Grand Mosque, a major destination and an assembly point for Muslims from all over the world.

The new guidance strategy is formulated to facilitate the worshippers’ movement to and from the mosque through the roads leading to it within the central area. It provides clear and easy-to-understand signs to places and services.

The General Authority for Care of Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques said the guidance signs were designed in accordance with the colour coding approved by Mecca authorities and the geographical marking of sites.

Each colour designates a specific area and road, thus helping visitors easily identify their destinations. Symbols for services and locations are also included alongside direction arrows, making it easy to recognise them without the need for non-Arabic speakers to read the text.

Mecca has steadily seen a surge in numbers of pilgrims since the start of the lunar month of Ramadan, usually marking the peak season of the Umrah or lesser pilgrimage in the Grand Mosque.