King approves installing of umbrellas
in yards surrounding the Holy Mosque
Makkah, Safar 22, 1436 - December 14, 2014in yards surrounding the Holy Mosque
The President General of the Grand Mosque and Prophet's Mosque Affairs, Sheikh Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudais announced that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has approved the installing of umbrellas in the yards surrounding the Holy Mosque.
He said that the King's order came to provide shading for external yards, in addition to the areas approved in the expansion project, with an additional area estimated at (275,000) square meters and more than (300) umbrellas, praying to Allah Almighty to award the best rewards to the King, the Crown Prince and the Deputy Crown Prince for their support and care for the Two Holy Mosques.
http://www.spa.gov.sa/english/print.php?id=1305712
arabic: http://www.gph.gov.sa/index.cfm?do=c...3&categoryid=2
Huge umbrellas to be installed
at Makkah Grand Mosque
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has approved a project to install about 300 sunshades in the courtyards of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, similar to the ones at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.
Makkah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah thanked the king for the royal gesture that would reduce the difficulties of worshippers who pray in the mosque’s courtyards under the scorching sun.
“We have decided to install more than 300 umbrellas in the courtyards around the Grand Mosque including the newly expanded areas,” said Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques.
He said the umbrellas would cover about 275,000 square meters of open space surrounding the mosque.
The Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah has nearly 250 umbrellas for the comfort of the pilgrims. Like blooming flowers, the umbrellas are programmed to fold and unfold in minutely delayed sequence to avoid collision between their moving parts. Their near-silent operation is automatically aligned with changes in the daily temperature. They open each morning, creating a translucent ceiling, and retract each evening in less than three minutes.
In summer, the open umbrellas provide daytime shade and reflect away much of the sun’s radiant energy. When closed at night, they allow residual heat absorbed by the stone floors and walls to escape back into the atmosphere. The process is reversed in winter. When temperatures are relatively low, umbrellas are closed during the day to allow the winter sun to warm the site, and opened at night to retain heat near ground level.
The mosque itself is air-conditioned. Lowering temperatures in the surrounding courtyards reduces the demand for cooling inside. Shading the courtyards accomplishes this, plus providing more comfortable areas for pilgrims and worshippers.
http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/674691
Canopies for Grand Mosque courtyard
Monday, 15 December 2014
MAKKAH — The courtyards around the Grand Mosque in Makkah will have canopies similar to those in the Prophet’s Miosque in Madinah.
An approval to this effect was given by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, according to General President for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais.
More than 300 canopies will provide shade from the sun to the visitors of the Grand Mosque, Al-Sudais said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency on Sunday.
The canopies will cover the courtyards and the expanded area of 275,000 square meters.
The retractable canopies in the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah create the effect of a translucent vault, providing protection to worshippers from the scorching heat.
At night, the canopies are closed to promote the natural cooling of the courtyard floor. Made of nonflammable teflon fabric that resists harsh weather conditions and ultraviolet rays, the canopies in Madinah are erected on lamp pillars.
Each canopy is made of a highly-resistant iron metal tube and their pillars and bases are covered with granite tiles, while the upper parts are covered with synthetic stone.
The Grand Mosque in Makkah in witnessing massive expansion projects. Tipped as the ‘Project of the Century’, the SR80 billion expansion project consists of three parts: Construction of annex building; expansion and development of courtyards around the mosque, including walkways, tunnels and toilets; and development of service facilities for air-conditioning, electricity and drinking water.
The total area of the existing mosque is 356,000 sq. meters accommodating 770,000 worshipers while the new expansion covering an area of 456,000 sq. meters will accommodate an additional 1.2 million faithful.
Courtyards of the mosque’s new expansion can hold more than 250,000 worshipers.
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20141215227581
structure being built on mid-left.
