RIYADH, 28 March 2007 — Major highways leading to the venue of the Arab Summit were closed yesterday to pave the way for the motorcade of the heads of state who were arriving in the Kingdom.

The ever-busy Khurais Road, which stretches from Exit 13 to the Diplomatic Quarter, remained deserted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. It was fully guarded by elite commandos standing every 15 meters on either side of the road. The stretch from Khurais Road to the Riyadh Airbase, where most of the guests were arriving, was also closed.

Schools and government offices were closed yesterday to reduce the traffic congestion on the roads.

However, private-sector employees and others who were forced to use the roads had to spend extra time on the streets following the diversions given by the traffic police.

Maj. Gen. Fahd Al-Bishr, director of Traffic Department, appealed to the motorists to cooperate with the authorities to ensure a smooth flow of traffic. He told Arab News that the Riyadh Traffic Department came out with a special route map for the motorists to reach their destinations without any hassles.

Despite the detours arranged by the police, there were traffic snarls near the intersections at Takhasussi Road, King Abdul Aziz Street and Sitteen Street. Nasiriya district was heavily policed since the guests who were staying at Riyadh Conference Palace have to pass through the area to reach the summit venue.

The Riyadh municipality has decorated the city with the national flags of the participating countries and attractive banners welcoming the visiting heads of state were displayed at prominent intersections.

Nawal, a housewife who wanted to take her son to Hamadi Hospital for asthma-related breathing problems, said it took her an hour to reach the destination which otherwise would have taken only 10 minutes.

“Since my husband was at work, I had to go in a taxi,” she said. “The driver took me to Naseem and brought me back to Olaya.”

Nihal Gamage, manager in a private establishment in Olaya who returned from his office in the evening, said: “The police mapped out a special traffic plan during the summit for the convenience of the road users.”

Saifudeen Thassim, senior banker at the Samba Financial Group, who had to go to King Khaled International Airport in the morning, told Arab News that he did not have any problems to reach the airport except spending some time at the two checkpoints on the airport highway.