Cairo: As the peak season for the Umrah or minor pilgrimage is just round the corner, Saudi authorities have advised pilgrims to use designated gates to enter the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest sprawling site in Mecca.
The General Authority for Care of the Two Holy Mosques noted that certain gates are allocated for the Umrah pilgrims to have access to the Mataf (circumambulation) courtyard in the mosque. They are the gates of King Fahd No 79, Ajyad No 3, and Umrah No 62.
The state agency pointed out that the worshippers’ knowledge about the numbers of gates and designated exits from the Mataf and Mas’a sites guarantees them an easy and smooth movement in the Grand Mosque especially in peak hours.
Exit gates from the Mas’a area have been designated on the ground and first floors via the Al Shabika, Ajyad, and Al Abbas bridges.
The main rituals of the Umrah are encircling the Holy Kaaba for seven times a rite known as Tawaf, and likewise walking back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwah a rite called Sa’i in the Grand Mosque.
The current season of Umrah, which can be undertaken around the year, began in late June after the end of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
Saudi authorities are ramping up preparations for coping with an expected influx of pilgrims during the upcoming holy lunar month of Ramadan when the Umrah season usually peaks. The holy month is expected this year to begin on March 1.
