Makkah News and Updates

20 March 2014

Over half of Friday sermon listeners do not remember the subject of the sermon, according to a recent survey conducted by the King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center.

However, more than two-thirds of the 685 respondents, picked randomly from the Kingdom’s 13 regions, said sermons had impacted their lives.

About 52.4 percent of respondents wanted sermons to focus on social issues, while more than 74 percent said they do not seek guidance from prayer leaders, indicating a lack of personal communication between preachers and their audience.

“About 60.4 percent of participants said they found the sermons appealing, while 31.6 percent said preachers encouraged them to deal with personal and social issues in a positive manner,” the survey said.

Ismail Maritheri of King Abdulaziz University, a counselor, trainer and academic, emphasized the significance of Friday sermons in changing society and renewing spiritual energy. He said the survey results emphasized the need to train spiritual leaders to deliver more appealing sermons in order to attract people.

“There must be an element of information and enlightenment, as well as conducive methods for personal, social and family development,” Maritheri told Arab News.

“Preachers who deliver sermons must be able to inform, motivate, inspire and enlighten people to achieve success in this world and the hereafter.”

http://www.arabnews.com/news/543111

 

Madinah

Historic mosques will be protected


Abu Bakr Mosque

March 19, 2014

MOROCCO - We must now wait until the age of 63 years to be able to go perform the ritual of Hajj.

A new criterion is added to the conditions that a future pilgrim should have because in addition to physical ability, financial resources and waiting lists , here is the Ministry of Endowments announced that the minimum age required to access the Hajj is 63 years. This news was a shock effect with travel agencies who have received a great blow for this season 2014.

This decision comes after the quota limits granted either 1 % of the world population. With regard to Morocco, it received 22,500 visas a decrease of more than 20% in comparison with 2013. These constrictions are due to outstanding work related to the circumambulation of the Kaaba said the Saudi government.

Articles in french:
http://www.luxeradio.ma/les-matins-l...de-63-ans.html
http://www.medias24.com/SOCIETE/1005...s-du-hajj.html

21 March 2014

The project for translating Friday sermons at the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah is rapidly expanding to include languages other than Urdu and English.

Live translation into the Malay and French will be launched from Friday at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.

Malay is spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, while French is widely spoken across the African continent. The Malay and French translations have followed suit after Urdu and English translation services were introduced.

Services are available near the King Fahd gate, which has been designated for non-Arabic speakers. Headsets and small audio devices are provided. The device is connected to an FM frequency that broadcasts the translation of the Arabic sermon delivered by the Grand Mosque preacher.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/543611

21 March 2014 - 20 Jumada Al-Awwal 1435

MAKKAH — French and Malawi speakers will be able to listen to the Friday sermon’s translation in their languages, said Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, chief of the Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques.

The English and Urdu translation services for the sermon were launched few weeks ago. The presidency said it works hard to serve all Muslims and translate the sermons in several languages so everyone can understand them.

Currently, only visitors in the area covering the King Fahd expansion project can benefit from the translation service. They will be provided with headphones before the sermon starts. Translators will be sitting inside booths equipped with all translation devices.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140321199319
article arabic: http://www.gph.gov.sa/index.cfm?do=c...7&categoryid=2

21 March 2014 - 20 Jumada Al-Awwal 1435

MAKKAH — Umm Al-Qura University’s Center of Technical Invention and Geographic Information Systems center has launched a new Android application that helps in counting the number of Tawaf rounds, said Dr. Saleh Basalamah, deputy director of the center.

The application will also alert users when they complete the seven rounds. It uses global positioning system technology and Bluetooth to identify the position of the person circumambulating the Holy Kaaba.

This is one of the HajjSense program applications, a program seeking to gather full information about Umrah and Haj rituals and use them to improve these services.

It can be downloaded at http://www.gistic.org/TawaApp. The center will soon develop an app for iPhones.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140321199321

23 March 2014

JEDDAH – Saudi Railways Organization (SRO) President Muhammad Al-Suwaiket said the project linking Makkah to Madinah (Al-Haramain Train Project) will be ready by 2016, while adding: “Only 50 % of the project has been completed so far.”

The government will invest SR365 billion to expand its 9,900-kilometer-long railway network all over the Kingdom, reiterated Al-Suwaiket, adding that 19 lines would be added to the railway network according to the Railway Master Plan (RMP).

The strategic plan designed by the government envisions the railway network over the next 30 years, he said, adding that the train for the Al-Haramain Train Project would be tested in 2015. The strategic plan focuses on achieving sustainable development for the railway networks that will serve passengers and transport cargos.

The network will be implemented in three phases. The first one started in 2010 and is scheduled to be completed in 2025. About 5,500-kilometer-long lines will be built for SR63billion.

The second phase begins in 2026 and ends in 2033; about 3,000-kilometer-long lines to be built at a total cost of SR209 billion. The third phase begins in 2034 and ends in 2040; about 1,400-kilometer-long lines to be built at a total cost of SR93 billion.

The SRO focuses in its policies on involving the public and private sectors in developing the transportation sector. The rail transit system is playing an increasing role in KSA’s transport industry. The North-South railway considers the largest freight rail project, 2,750 km long, and valued at an estimated SR20 billion ($5.44 billion). The project is of strategic importance in terms of freight exports to the Gulf. The Landbridge project is another important freight line valued at SR26.6 billion ($7.24 billion). The line links the port cities of Jeddah, Dammam and Jubail, passing through Riyadh.

The Haramain High Speed rail project, valued at SR51.5 billion ($14.03 billion) and owned by SRO, is built to transport pilgrims.

The Riyadh Light rail, owned by Arriyadh Development Authority and valued at 9.3 billion, is expected to be completed by 2018.

The Jeddah metro is another planned project valued at SR 35 billion ($9.5 billion).

The number of railway passengers is expected to reach 3.37 million passengers by 2014. In terms of freight, about 15 million tons of goods and materials is expected to be transported through the railways by 2014.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140323199556

23 March 2014

MAKKAH — Accidents on elevators in Makkah have steadily been rising in Makkah, a senior official has said.

Col. Sami Al-Jad’ani, Makkah Civil Defense spokesman, linked the increase in these accidents to the use of elevators from unlicensed companies and establishments, Makkah daily reported.

Col. Al-Jad’ani said statistics on elevator accidents showed that Makkah is the highest with 428 accidents attended to by 600 rescue teams with the participation of elevator company representatives. Makkah has nearly 50 percent of the Kingdom’s accommodation facilities. As such, various buildings and malls in the city have about 2,500 elevators.

Col. Al-Jad’ani said the Civil Defense emphasizes the importance of maintaining safety of elevators. Building owners, he said, should ensure that the elevator companies are licensed.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140323199495

23 March 2014

There are 18,905 streets in Makkah without names.

This was revealed in a new study supervised by the Ibrahim Al-Saidi Office in Makkah. The study categorized the city into four different zones.

The north zone comprised the municipalities of Al-Otaibiyah, Al-Umrah, Al-Aziziyah and Al-Mashaer; the central zone comprised Al-Ghazza and Ajyad municipalities; the eastern zone was composed of Al-Maabdah and Al-Sharae municipalities while the western zone was made up of Al-Misfelah and Al-Shawqiyah municipalities.

The study reviewed the names of streets that were accorded by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. During the exercise it was discovered that there were 18,905 unnamed streets. There were 2,236 streets with proper names.

The study said the aerial image of the city for 2014 should be updated with specific street measurements. The Makkah Atlas should be updated and historical and heritage areas clearly defined, said the study.

The study recommended that the main streets should be named after Caliphs and senior scholars, while side streets should be named after public personalities and Qur’anic terms.

The study also recommended that there should be at least 1,000 main streets with a width of 20 meters.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/544606

 

Umrah firms want higher Ramadan pilgrim quota



Makkah - March 2014

 

Only 6,400 hajj pilgrims from Kuwait

Saudi Arabia to double visas
for Iranian minor Hajj pilgrims

24 March 2014

MAKKAH — The municipality in Makkah’s new classifications for restaurants have resulted in the closure of 199 restaurants and food providers, Al-Madinah daily reported.

This new classification was intended as a step to better monitor restaurants and food providers, which have to meet certain requirements and will be classified based on a stars system.

The classification depends on the level of service, quality, hygiene, premises quality and licenses. High quality restaurants will receive a five-star classification.

Makkah residents have received the new system positively and said it should have been implemented years ago.

Restaurants and food providers in Makkah, especially in the central area around the Grand Mosque, have greatly deteriorated, they said. They called for special teams to continuously monitor these restaurants, especially during the Umrah and Haj seasons.

A number of restaurant owners claimed that the closure of their premises was unjustified and caused them great losses.

Abdulaziz Bakheet, a citizen, supported the municipality's new classifications.

He noted that many restaurants were in very bad shape and sell food prepared in unhygienic conditions, while Makkah hospitals were full of patients suffering from food poisoning as a result.

Bakheet called on the municipality to monitor the fish market, where many shops allegedly use used oil to fry fish.

Ali Al-Ayafi, a citizen, welcomed the municipality’s steps and asked the Ministry of Commerce to play a role in naming and shaming restaurant owners. Other citizens hoped this would not be a temporary campaign and would continue throughout the year.

They said such monitoring should include hospitals, shopping malls and small shops inside neighborhoods that sell expired food.

The head of the environmental health department at Makkah Municipality, Dr. Mohammad Al-Futawi, said that the campaign was launched two weeks ago and covered all of Makkah.

"The inspection teams have monitored a number of violations that included bad hygiene, expired food from unknown sources, insects and rodents and workers demonstrating a lack of personal hygiene," he said.

He pointed out that the inspection rounds covered the Al-Etaibyah, Al-Sharayei, Bahrah, and Ajyad areas, where teams accompanied by cleaning workers and compressing vehicles confiscated large quantities of food.

The assistant head of the environmental health department, Sameer Al-Ziyadi, said that 4,306 kg of food and 1,215 liters of drinks were confiscated over the past two days.

He said: “All confiscated goods were from unknown sources and had expired dates.

“In addition, more than 8,000 utensils were also confiscated because they were unsuitable for cooking.”

Meanwhile, to preserve their reputation, a number of shutdown restaurant owners have put up signs claiming that their premises were closed for maintenance.

At the same time, social media have named these restaurants and specified their locations.

Deputy Makkah Mayor for Services, Abdulsalam Mashat, said the municipality is not responsible for what is published on social media and it does not have the authority to name and shame violators.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140324199620 24 March 2014

Local authorities in Makkah are intensifying health inspection campaigns on eateries to guard against epidemics as the number of visitors to the holy city steadily increases. The Makkah municipality and the Ministry of Commerce have been separately engaged in efforts to maintain food hygiene specifications in eateries and food outlets in the holy city.

“Inspection teams from the ministry of commerce and industry raided a popular restaurant in Makkah where they confiscated more than 250 bags of rice weighing 40 kg each because of the presence of insects and rats,” a ministry of commerce official said on Sunday.

Abdul Hamid Al-Ansari of the Commerce Ministry said that after discovering the unhygienic environment in the restaurant, they seized rice bags and other substandard food items and destroyed them.

He added that the ministry also closed down the restaurant and took necessary measures to prosecute the owner.

In a related development, the Makkah municipality’s Public Health Department has intensified its surveillance on all food outlets in the holy city to ensure that vendors meet the health specifications for their eateries.

Osama Al-Zaituny of the Makkah municipality told Arab News that, “We have recently closed down 82 restaurants and eateries in Makkah that failed to meet the municipality’s health standards.” He said that the municipality has destroyed more than 4,306 kilos of food and 1,215 liters of juice and liquids in addition to 8,000 food items of various kinds. He added that the municipality had also destroyed over 7 quintals of fresh fish in Makkah’s central fish market located at Kakiah.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/545056

25 March 2014

MAKKAH – The Central Haj Committee discussed on Monday a comprehensive plan to transport 25 million Umrah pilgrims and visitors to the Grand Mosque in Makkah during the remaining months of the Umrah season, including Ramadan and the annual summer vacation, when a huge influx of pilgrims is expected.

Makkah Emir Prince Mishal Bin Abdullah, who is also chairman of the committee, presided over the meeting.

According to the plan, the worshippers will be transported to and fro between the Grand Mosque, various districts, parking areas and bus stations at the entry and exit points to Makkah.

The plan aims at facilitating smooth flow of pilgrims and visitors as well as vehicular traffic.

Addressing the meeting, Prince Mishal underlined the need for exerting all efforts to render the best possible services to the pilgrims and visitors to Islam’s holiest shrine.

He called for beefing up field monitoring to ensure flawless implementation of the plan and intensifying awareness programs among residents and those associated with pilgrims’ service.

He also thanked Minister of Education Prince Khaled Al-Faisal for his outstanding services and great efforts to improve the facilities and services for pilgrims during his tenure as emir of Makkah and chairman of the Central Haj Committee.

The meeting also discussed a report of the Agency for Umrah Affairs at the Ministry of Haj about the current Umrah season and the number of pilgrims who arrived and left the Kingdom.

It also reviewed the plans and programs of the Ministry of Haj, Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, Makkah Mayoralty, King Abdulaziz International Airport and the National Water Company in extending services and facilities to Umrah pilgrims and visitors to the holy city in the Umrah season.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20140325199757