Unlike flying where you find yourself confined to a small seat unable to see further than a short distance in front of you, traveling by car gives people time to look and gain personal knowledge. I was lucky to join thousands of fellow Muslims in performing Umrah during the Eid and made the journey to Makkah and Madinah by car. I had the opportunity to see for myself the state of things — gas stations as well as places to eat, sleep and pray — along our highways. And I was appalled by what I saw.
The condition of some of the facilities is a far cry and a long way from the development and progress in other areas of the country. The best that can be said of the quality of service provided is that it is substandard. The rooms offered for travelers to rest in after long and tiring journeys are so unpleasant that no self-respecting person would stay in them. The same applies to toilets and restrooms which seem to have gone years without cleaning. Some rest stops have no toilets at all.
As for the prayer sites attached to the rest houses, these are so neglected and in such a state of disrepair that no one could believe they were meant to serve as clean and ritually pure places of worship. Dust and sand particles cover the carpets and prayer rugs that are themselves shabby and torn. Can it possibly be that some of these places have not been swept or cleaned for years — or ever since they were first built? At the service stations attendants wear whatever they like. Certainly nothing special was worn for Eid. The stations seemed not to care if the workers made a decent appearance or not.
It is time that something is done to force the owners of these facilities which are frequented by travelers from all over the country and abroad to meet the basic requirements of sanitation and safety.
Arab News From the Local Press 22 December 2002
