The late King Faisal had a wish. He wanted to see the area surrounding the Grand Mosque in Makkah turned into a large open space, stretching hundreds of meters in all directions. It was to be surrounded by squares and spacious streets and beyond them, high-rise buildings to accommodate and serve the pilgrims. He wanted the open areas around the Haram to be used only by pedestrians; vehicular traffic, shops and other services would go underground and so facilitate movement in all directions above ground. Thirty years ago the implementation of this plan was quite feasible. Most of the buildings at that time around the Grand Mosque were old and it would not have been difficult then to buy them from their owners at reasonable prices and then build whatever was needed.
King Faisal unfortunately died before he could see his wishes fulfilled. Limited open spaces with limited capacities were made available at a later stage, especially along the eastern, western and southern sides of the Haram but not for more than a hundred meters maximum. Simultaneously, high-rise commercial and residential buildings, costing millions of riyals, sprung up everywhere. The result is the nasty congestion we are now all too familiar with, especially during the season when pilgrims and worshipers who cannot get all the way to the mosque are forced to pray in the surrounding streets.
A state of complete chaos develops at peak hours, with people and cars mixed up and traffic forced to a standstill. Ambulances, police cars and service vehicles are prevented from reaching their destinations. Imagine the tragedy that would occur if, God forbid, a fire broke out or an accident took place in such crowded places. Rescuers and firefighters would be trapped inside their cars, unable to move and save lives. With increasing numbers of pilgrims and visitors converging on Makkah each year and with Umrah — the minor pilgrimage — becoming a year-round activity, the situation can only worsen in future.
Let us not say that if this or that had been done, conditions would have been far better now. We can only ask in hope whether it is still possible to expand further by adding another 500 meters of open space around the Haram, with this being done in stages. If not possible, would someone please come forward with a viable solution?
Arab News From the Local Press 11 December 2002
