MAKKAH, 26 September 2007 — As part of efforts to guarantee the smooth flow of pilgrims and visitors to the Grand Mosque, the General Presidency of the Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque Affairs have left all the gates of the mosque open 24 hours a day throughout the month of Ramadan.
There are 135 gates, including the entrances to the upper and basement floors of the mosque. While in normal times 309 guards in addition to 24 temporary workers man these gates, the huge number of worshippers in Ramadan necessitated the recruitment of 340 temporary guards.
The green and red signals at the gates inform the worshippers if there is space inside the halls or not. There are six escalators with 12 gates leading to them and two escalators connected to the Gate No. 74 and the Gate No. 84.
The disabled pilgrims can use 17 entrance gates. The two lifts near the New Ajyad Gate and New Safa Gate are meant for disabled people who want to go to the upper floors. There are also several emergency exits.
The guards are not allowing pilgrims to bring in any items, including personal effects, that might annoy or create inconvenience to the worshippers.
Food and drink are generally not allowed inside the mosque either, but the guards are permitting the pilgrims to bring along small quantities of qahwa and dates.
The guards also do not allow people to pray at the entrances to the mosque because it obstructs the flow of foot traffic.
Daycare Centers
Saeed Al-Ghamdi, director of the Social Development Office in Makkah, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Social Affairs, said a number of daycare centers would shortly be opened in Makkah.
The centers that mainly aim at helping working mothers will also benefit women who want to pray at the Grand Mosque, attend functions or go shopping, Al-Ghamdi said.
Licenses to run the centers will be issued to Saudi women who can open the centers adhering to the regulations governing building space, location and safety measures, he said. The facility should also have sufficient number of toys and safe and comfortable furniture.
The workers at the centers should be qualified to work with young children and infants. The center should have arrangements to give first aid service to children in cases of emergency and the fees should be affordable.
The order to grant licenses to applicants who fulfill the conditions was issued by Awad Al-Radadi, undersecretary for social development at the ministry, recently.
Several women have already approached the ministry’s office requesting for licenses, the official said.
