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Conrad Makkah recently opened its doors, offering pilgrims easy access to the Holy City.
It is one of the few hotels in Makkah to offer direct access to the Al Haram via 12 elevators to the religious site, enabling pilgrims to seamlessly reach the Sacred Mosque during peak prayer times. The hotel also offers an on-site Masjid for up to 1,000 guests with audio connection to Al-Haram.
Guests staying at the stunning 438-room facility can receive luxury service the moment they land at the airport, with a private car equipped with Wi-Fi, food, and refreshments, available upon request to transport them to the Holy City.
Source:
https://defence.pk/threads/makkah-and-madinah-news-and-updates.249777/page-26#ixzz4KOHn87Eh
Thanks for the reply and yes good points, the kicker being who are we to judge, the very thing I accuse others of and here I am doing it my self.
Though it does seem the number of wise men that have found spiritual enlightenment while walking the desert outnumbers those who have gained enlightenment while being chaufered from the airport
I honestly see nothing wrong with modern infrastructure of a high quality. At least I would prefer to have that option rather than not having it. For instance if I was traveling with a sick or old relative from Indonesia or Nigeria (for instance) I would prefer comfort over hardship.
It is also needless to say that staying at a luxurious hotel is a personal option and not something anyone is forced to do. Likewise people, as seen in post 1, can perform Hajj "the old-fashioned way". Nothing stops them from doing that. However few people are doing this today.
Well, I have no idea about that but personally I can gain enlightenment in almost every environment.
Grand Mosque has a capacity of 1.8m pilgrims after expansion
Monday 12 September 2016
JEDDAH: The Grand Mosque in Makkah has the capacity to accommodate around 1.8 million pilgrims, following its expansion, reflecting the keenness of the Kingdom to care for Haj and Umrah pilgrims.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman launched five major projects last year, including the main building expansion project, squares, pedestrian tunnels, Grand Mosque central service station and the first ring road.
King Salman issued directives to take advantage of the space available in the building under the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques project.
According to local media, directives were also issued to take advantage of all the floors to accommodate up to 1,000,850 worshipers at the Grand Mosque and enable 107,000 people to perform tawaf (circumambulation) per hour.
The capacity of toiletss and places of ablution whose total number reached 16,300. Escalators and lifts are operating around the clock at the Grand Mosque in addition to air conditioning system, lighting and sound system, TV surveillance and fire control system.
A report issued by the Ministry of Finance in this regard revealed that projects within the major third expansion of the Grand Mosque include main building of the Grand Mosque, Masaa and Mataf, external squares, bridges, terraces, central services, services tunnel, hospital and pedestrian tunnels, transit stations and bridges leading to the Grand Mosque, the first ring road surrounding the Grand mosque and the infrastructure area, including power stations and water reservoirs.
The report said that construction area has covered 1,470,000 square meters of area and expansion of 320,000 square meters to accommodate 300,000 worshipers.
Construction area covered in the squares is 175,000 square meters to accommodate 280,000 worshipers, while the bridges’ area is 45,000 square meters to accommodate 50,000 worshipers.
The construction area in the services’ buildings is 550,000 square meters to accommodate 310,000 worshipers, in addition to 263,000 square meters of area of the eastern terraces to accommodate 150,000 worshippers.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/983536/saudi-arabia
Hajis stone devil with ease
MINA: On Monday, Day 3 of Haj, pilgrims returned to the tent city of Mina from Muzdalifah, where they spent Sunday night praying and collecting small pebbles for the symbolic ritual of stoning the devil.
At the break of day, pilgrims began walking into Mina toward the multi-storied Jamrat Complex. It was here that each of them threw seven pea-sized pebbles at Jamrat Al-Aqaba, which is one of the three elliptical-shaped walls representing the devil.
Assisted by hundreds of helpful security officials, the ritual was conducted in a peaceful and orderly fashion. Special assistance was provided for the elderly in carrying out the task.
“I was not sure if I would be able to carry out such a daunting task,” said Naeema Bashir, an elderly pilgrim from Karachi. “But then Allah makes things easy. I feel relieved now. May Allah accept our Haj.”
“The Saudi police managed the situation very well,” a French pilgrim, who gave his name only as Abdullah, 33, told AFP.
Saudi pilgrim Ibrahim Al-Ayed, 40, agreed. “There has been a clear improvement,” he said.
Faruk Hamloui, an Algerian who for years has guided his compatriots at Haj, said, “People learned and understood that only organization and respect for the routes designated for crowd movement help to avoid tragedies.”
It is a message repeatedly emphasized by officials.
They “stressed the need to adhere to directives and not take lightly the movement of pilgrims toward the Jamrat Complex,” Mahmoud Damanhoori, board member of a local foundation which assists Southeast Asian pilgrims, told AFP.
The ritual symbolizes Prophet Ibrahim’s stoning of the devil who appeared three times to him and to his son, Ismaeel, and tried to dissuade them from carrying out Allah’s instructions.
Monday’s ritual symbolizes the rejection of evil. It will be repeated for the next two days during which pilgrims will hurl seven pebbles each day at each of the three walls inside the Jamrat Complex.
An endless stream of pilgrims, the men dressed in the ihram, a two-piece seamless white garment, cried “Allah-o-Akbar” (God is the Greatest) as they hurled pebbles at one of the walls representing the Satan. There was no respite from the harsh weather as daytime temperatures continued to hover between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius.
Once inside the Jamrat Complex, however, pilgrims heaved a sigh of relief in the face of cool drafts of air from giant-sized humidifying fans.
The pilgrims transformed Mina into a vast sea of white as they flocked from all directions toward the Jamrat Complex.
Helicopters were constantly overhead to monitor the huge crowds with the help of more than thousands of high-tech cameras, all connected to a control room staffed by experienced security authorities.
After the stoning, pilgrims offer sacrificial meat, normally by slaughtering a sheep. At present, however, most of the sacrifices are slaughtered at a number of state-of-the-art abattoirs run by the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the meat is then sent to poor countries.
On Tuesday, color will return to Mina with delighted pilgrims donning their traditional best in celebration of the completion of what to them was the journey of a lifetime.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/983956/saudi-arabia
ARAB NEWS | Published — Saturday 17 September 2016
RIYADH: A government proposal to extend the Umrah season from the current eight months to 10 is being considered, local media said quoting informed sources.
The proposal, according to which Moharram and Shawwal would be included in the Umrah season, comes in the context of having a new vision for Makkah and Madinah, the sources said.
Umrah visas currently cover the period between Safar and the end of Ramadan.
The proposal is also in line with the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to raise the number of Umrah pilgrims from 8 million to 30 million by 2030.
The vision is meant to enrich the pilgrims’ religious and cultural journey in the Kingdom through the construction and expansion of museums and historic and cultural sites.
According to the vision, the biggest Islamic museum in the world will be established. It will collect, store, display and document items aimed to acquaint visitors with the rich Islamic history.
Meanwhile, the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) organized a workshop to discuss a detailed road map for sustainable growth in all business sectors in Makkah through Haj and Umrah.
MCCI Chairman Mahir Jamal said the next period will witness the completion of mega projects in Makkah, to keep up with the growth of Muslims in the world. Muslims number about 1.62 billion worldwide, representing 23 percent of the global population.
“This prompted our wise leadership to envisage an expected increase in the number of pilgrims performing Haj and Umrah from 8 million to 30 million by 2030,” he said.
The National Transformation Program 2020 has also put forth strategic goals for the Ministry of Haj and Umrah, aimed at facilitating the journey for Haj and Umrah pilgrims, he said.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/985471/saudi-arabia
Saudi children save money to buy food, water for pilgrims
Sep 17, 2016
By Mohammed Saud
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
MINA — A number of Saudi children have broken the monopoly of the old men and women on charity works. They have joined them to gain reward from Allah for serving His guests.
Two brothers, who are hardly 10 years of age, chose a major street in Aziziyah district in Makkah, where a large chunk of pilgrims prefer to live as it is close to Mina, and started distributing tea and water among the pilgrims.
The two brothers, Mazen and Bassim Al-Zahrani, said they came from Al-Baha in the south with their parents for the Haj.
They said they made use of their free time to serve pilgrims with water and cups of tea to obtain reward from Allah for their charity work. They said their mother always encouraged them to do charity and to volunteer in the service of others especially during these blessed days.
The two brothers said they saved their petty cash to purchase bottles of water, tea and food for distribution among the pilgrims.
Mazen and Bassim are not alone in this work. Other Saudi children are competing to extend services to the pilgrims.
It has become a phenomenon to see Saudi children offering hot meals, fruit, water and soft drinks to the guests of Allah. The children usually buy water and food out of their saved pocket money. At times, their families would supply them with cash or they obtain the confectionery from the numerous charity organizations in Makkah which assign them the job with the purpose of training them on the voluntary work.
Abu Ghaida, a Jordanian pilgrim, said he saw a number of Saudi children giving food and juices to the pilgrims in Mina.
“I am extremely happy to see Saudi children do this work. They are the future generation who will continue the good work of their fathers” he said.
Ibrahim, a pilgrim from Palestine, said he was not surprised to see Saudi children competing to serve the pilgrims in the Holy Sites.
“It is not a surprising phenomenon to see Saudis and their children serving the pilgrims. They are generous people who always honor their guests,” he said.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/saudi-children-save-money-buy-food-water-pilgrims/
Saudi hospitality steals the heart of Iraqi Shiite pilgrim
Sep 16, 2016
Faleh Al-Safi
By Mohammed Al-Aklabi
MINA — Faleh Al-Safi, an Iraqi Shiite lawyer, who was here for the Haj had distorted ideas about the Saudi people.
But his stay here has cleared all his misconception and he is now leaving the Kingdom satisfied that all is not that bad about Saudi Arabia and its people he has been made to believe all these years.
“I came for the Haj with misconceptions about the Saudi people. I was fearful and apprehensive because I heard that they are racists and that they treat others badly,” he said.
Safi said he began changing his ideas about the Saudi people when he was welcomed with flowers, Zamzam water and warm hugs and smiles on arrival at the Madinah airport.
“This immediately changed my perception. They (the Saudis) are generous and welcoming people. This is totally contrary to what I have been hearing from my Shiite clan,” he said.
Safi also said he used to hear that the Saudi security men were tough especially with the foreigners whom they maltreat and oppress.
“I saw Saudi security personnel helping people, providing them water, guiding them politely to their destinations and sometimes carrying them on their backs to complete their Haj rites,” he said.
Safi said the nice treatment he received during his stay in the Kingdom for the Haj made him change his mind about the Saudi police.
He has now become confident that the bad things he used to hear about the Saudi people from the Shiites in his country were not more than plots to seed dissensions among the various Islamic factions.
He also accused the media in his country of circulating fabricated reports about the Kingdom and its people.
“From now on, I will not listen to anything negative about the Kingdom or its people,” he added.
Safi, 65, said he was hesitant to come to Saudi Arabia and was held back by what he used to hear about the Saudis’ racism and bad treatment of others.
“The Saudi people gave both the Sunni and the Shiite Iraqi pilgrims the same nice treatment. Whenever you go in the streets of the Holy Sites, you will see Saudi men and women competing to serve you,” he said.
Safi said he will spread the truth about the Kingdom and its people to his fellow Shiites back home. “You only see cordiality and peace in the Saudi people and police. This will be my message to my people back home,” the Shiite lawyer said.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/saudi-hospitality-steals-heart-iraqi-shiite-pilgrim/
Pilgrims from South Sudan applaud King’s timely help
Sep 15, 2016
By Abdullah Al-Dani
MINA — About 100 pilgrims from South Sudan had lost every hope of being able to make it to Saudi Arabia in time for the Haj pilgrimage. Little did they know that their predicament would be solved by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman who ordered a chartered flight to bring them to the Kingdom to perform the pilgrimage.
The pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom on Saturday, the day of the ascent to Mina, did the tawaf and sa’i in the Grand Mosque and from there proceeded to Mina to join the multitude of pilgrims in the Tent City.
They said the special aircraft landed in Juba, picked them up to neighboring Uganda and from there to Jeddah.
The pilgrims from Southern Sudan could not believe their eyes when they landed at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah from where they were quickly rushed to Makkah.
“It was the noble gesture and the generous hospitality of the King that enabled us to arrive in time for the Haj after we have lost every hope of doing it this year,” said Abdullah Jumaa.
Jumaa, secretary general of the Holy Qur’an Society in South Sudan, said they received the King’s invitation to come to the Haj as his personal guests within his program to invite Muslims from various parts of the world for the Haj and Umrah.
He said because of the fighting and the rainy season which makes travel difficult in their country it was difficult for them to reach Makkah.
“King Salman was quick to provide us with a special aircraft to airlift us to the Kingdom just in time to do the Haj,” he said.
Faisal Hassan Abdullah, deputy chief editor of Al-Watan Arabic newspaper in South Sudan, said none of them had it on mind that a chartered flight would land in Juba to transport them to the Kingdom.
“The King is extending assistance to Muslims everywhere in the world. Whenever the King comes to know about the difficulties of Muslims anywhere, he steps in to assist them,” he said.
http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/pilgrims-south-sudan-applaud-kings-timely-help/
SPA | Published — Thursday 15 September 2016
MAKKAH: A pilgrim who had underwent open heart surgery in Madinah just before Haj has successfully completed his pilgrimage.
Mohammed Mirza, 58, from Bangladesh, complained of heart pain while he was going to the Prophet’s Mosque from his accommodation before Haj. He was taken to a medical clinic near the Prophet’s Mosque, which then transferred him to Madinah Cardiac Center where he underwent emergency open-heart surgery. Transferred to Makkah to recuperate, he was later declared fit to perform Haj.
Mirza expressed his deep gratitude to the government of Saudi Arabia for its commitment to provide various services to pilgrims such as health, security and housing facilities and in particular the rapid medical services that enabled him to perform Haj safely.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/985091/saudi-arabia
