Saudi Arabia: Mecca Grand Mosque carpets could stretch for 200km long

Cairo: The Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest in the Saudi city of Mecca, has been furnished with 33,000 luxurious carpets, that could stretch for an estimated total length of 200 kilometres, a state agency responsible for the sprawling site has said.

The carpets, also rolled out in the outside courtyards of the mosque, are manufactured according to the highest quality standards to serve worshippers on Fridays when the Muslims' weekly congregation prayer is performed.

These carpets are thick enough to ascertain durability and withstand heavy use. They are also designed to ensure the comfort of worshippers during their prayers.

A central carpet washing plant has been set up in Mecca fitted with automated laundries to clean and disinfect the carpets of the Grand Mosque.

The Grand Mosque, a major destination for Muslims from across the globe, houses the Holy Kaaba that the the faithful direct in their prayers.

Millions of Muslims flock to Saudi Arabia, Islam's birthplace, to undertake the Umrah or minor pilgrimage and pray in the Grand Mosque.

The Islamic sacred month of Ramadan, expected this year to end on March 29, usually marks the peak of the Umrah season.

More than 25 million worshippers, including 5.5 million Umrah pilgrims, prayed in the mosque during the first 10 days of current Ramadan.

In the run-up to the lunar month, Saudi authorities have mobilized all resources to receive the influx of pilgrims in Mecca and enable them to perform the rites with ease.

To this end, nearly 13,000 personnel have been deployed around the clock to keep the Grand Mosque clean amid an upsurge of worshippers during Ramadan.

The workers are distributed into field teams and do interconnected shifts to ensure their availability 24 hours a day.

A full-scale cleaning operation in the mosque is carried out in just 35 minutes without disrupting the pilgrims' performance of their rites, the General Authority for the Care of the Two Holy Mosques has said.