Okaz Newspaper

The Kingdom’s cities are full of mosques that are managed by the government. Mosques on highways, typically attached to rest stops or gas stations, are privately owned and managed and this is where the trouble starts. Used by travelers for praying and for the use of the attached bathroom facilities, these mosques have been sadly neglected to such an extent that people, upon seeing the pathetic state of the bathrooms, opt not to use either.

This raises the question about the attitude of officials at the Endowments Administration with regard to this problem and the citizens who contributed to building these mosques but failed to look after them. Don’t they know that Allah the Almighty accepts only that which is good?

Another common problem that many travelers face is buying medicine from pharmacies at these rest stops because they close during prayer times even though most of their staff are non-Muslims. With no other options, customers are left waiting for these employees to open shop even though most of them just stand around and talk.

Once, while traveling to Madinah, I had an emergency and needed to fill up my car. After driving for half an hour with my fuel tank dangerously low, I was left in a bind. Unable to find any gas stations near Rabigh, I flagged a fuel truck driver who helped me out so that I could return to the highway and continue on my way to Madinah.

Generally, a traveler from Jeddah to Madinah will find a couple of stations on Al-Hejra road after passing Thuwal including a few rest stops where conditions make it clear that the owners are more concerned with making a profit than with serving travelers.

Soon the Haramain high-speed train that connects Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah will open. After that, there is no doubt that people will prefer to use the train as it is faster and more convenient, leaving these dirty and forgotten rest stops a distant memory.