Okaz/Saudi Gazette

 

MADINAH — Squatting in the Prophet’s Mosque is a rare phenomenon and an isolated act usually by local pilgrims and visitors who wait for the prayer inside the mosque, according to the Ministry of Haj.

 

“All pilgrims coming from abroad have accommodations and therefore will not need to sleep in the mosque,” said Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Bijawi, director of the ministry’s branch in Madinah.

 

Bijawi said most people who sleep in the mosque are local pilgrims and visitors who may be dosing off while waiting for prayer.

 

He said immediately upon their arrival at the airport or the Hajrah center for the grouping of land pilgrims, external pilgrims are transported to their places of accommodation under contracts signed between the Haj service providers and the hotels and furnished apartments.

 

Bijawi said the external pilgrims who do not find accommodation for any reason will be put up in hotels by the ministry at the expense of the service providers. The rent will deducted from the bank guarantee deposited by the service providers with the ministry, he added.

 

A total of 400,765 pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom as of Monday. Of them, 131,226 have come through King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and 268,029 via Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz International Airport in Madinah.

 

On Tuesday, the Madinah airport received 96 flights — the highest number of flights the airport received in a single day — coming from various parts of the world.

 

This year a total of 1.39 million pilgrims are expected from abroad.