Saudi school break boosts pilgrimage numbers to Mecca's Grand Mosque

Cairo: The number of Muslims flocking from different parts of Saudi Arabia to perform the Umrah or minor pilgrimage in the Grand Mosque in Mecca is surging as the mid-year school holiday in the kingdom has got underway.

The 10-day vacation runs until January 12. Many citizens and expatriates usually make use of the break to head to the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest, to worship and perform the Umrah.

The current holiday has contributed to increasing the numbers of worshippers and pilgrims inside the mosque and in its outer courtyards, according to the Saudi TV Al Ekhbariya.

Hotels in the central area of Mecca are experiencing virtually full occupancy rates due to the influx, the television added.

Local authorities and the state agency in charge of the mosque are making great efforts to provide seamless services to the worshippers and enable them to perform the rites smoothly.

The General Authority for Care of the Two Holy Mosques said the Grand Mosque is witnessing large numbers of pilgrims and exhorted worshippers to observe instructions. “Avoid crowding with others and give priority to the elderly and people with disabilities,” the Authority added in an X post.

The main rituals of the Umrah are encircling the Holy Kaaba in the Grand Mosque for seven times known as Tawaf and likewise walking back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah, a rite called Sa’i.

Saudi authorities have recommended the faithful to perform the rites in serenity by choosing the most favourable times of the day and avoiding overcrowding at the holy site.

The current season of the Umrah, which can be undertaken around the year, began in late June after the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.