Saudi diplomatic missions abroad have concluded issuing visas to Umrah (Minor Hajj) performers of various nationalities for the current year 1428 H. season, Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry for Consular Affairs Ibrahim Alkhrashi said.
He added that by last Thursday, the Foreign Ministry concluded issuing Umrah visas for the current year 1428 H. He stated that visas were given to more than 2,951,145 Umrah performers explaining that this number exceeded the number of Umrah visas issued last year 1427 H. by 2%.
Foreign visitors warned of over-staying in Kingdom
Riyadh, 29 September 07
The General Directorate of passports has urged all foreigners who come to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Umrah (minor pilgrimage) visas not to over-stay their visa period, and not to subject themselves to penalties.
"Those who provide assistance to overstayers whether through providing accommodations, work or transport, will also be liable to punishments which include imprisonment and SR 10,000 fine, the Directorate General warned.
Like his predecessors, King Abdullah bin Abdul-aziz has also shown special interest in the care and development of the two holy mosques.
Recently, he allocated SR10 billion for the comprehensive development of the Holy Mosque in Makkah and the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah. For the benefit of pilgrims and worshippers, he also ordered the air-conditioning of the entire Holy Mosque in Makkah. Plans have also been made to increase the mosque’s capacity by 35 percent to accommodate the growing numbers of pilgrims and worshippers, especially during the peak Hajj and Umrah seasons. The new expansion project is likely to be completed by 2020.
A new expansion project is being carried out at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah at a cost of SR4 billion. The project includes construction of sunshades around the mosque, expansion of the mosque’s eastern courtyard and establishment of a new transport station and parking areas. The project is aimed at creating additional prayer area for some 270,000 worshippers and improving facilities for the comfort of pilgrims and other visitors.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Majed bin Abdulaziz, the Governor of Madinah region, said seven new hospitals are to be open in Madinah region before the end of this year.
Prince Abdulaziz was speaking here on Thursday evening after opening the health center of Bab-Jibreel here.
He reiterated the keenness of the Saudi officials to extend the best possible services to the worshippers at the Prophet's Mosque and Umrah (minor hajj) performers.
The expansion project at the two Holy Mosques constitutes the most important project ever implemented by the Saudi government for the service of Islam and Muslims.
The Saudi government spent more than SR 70 billion for the implementation of this great project.
The area of the expansion project at the Holy Mosque of Makkah amounts to 76000 square meter.
Following the implementation of the expansion project, the area of the Holy Mosque has increased to 356,000 square meter including the open spaces surrounding the Holy Mosque .
Before the implementation of the expansion project the area was not more than 152,000 square meter.
The capacity of the Holy Mosque has jumped from 340,000 worshippers to 770,000.
The number of the worshippers can be doubled at the peak days.
Arrangements are underway to implement other important projects at the Holy Mosque of Makkah.
As regards the Prophet's Mosque, Late Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz during his visit to the mosque in October 1982 ordered to start the implementation of the expansion project at the mosque.
In 1405, King Fahd laid the foundation stone of the expansion project.
The total area of the mosque after implementing the expansion project has jumped to 98,500 square meter, and the capacity of the mosque has become more than 270,000 worshippers.
The expansion project included open spaces around the mosque with an area of about 235,000 square meter. This development has increased the capacity of the mosque to more than 730,000 worshippers, and the number of the worshippers can be increased to more than one million at the peak days.
On 14.7.1426, the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz ordered to complete the remaining works of the expansion project at a total cost of SR 4.7 billion.
The Saudi officials have been giving a great attention to the sector of roads in the Kingdom.
Road projects with a length of more than 50,000 kilometer have so far been implemented.
The major roads include Makkah-Madinah with an area of 421 kilometer, Jeddah-Makkah (60km), Riyadh-Sudeir-Qassim (317 km), Riyadh-Dammam (383 km), Riyadh-Taif (750 km), Madinah-Tabuk (680 km) and Qassim-Hail (305 km).
The ministry of transport is currently implementing a number of road projects notably the highways with a length of 24,200 kilometer at a total cost of sr 24 billion.
Meanwhile, the ministry has signed contracts for the maintenance of these roads. This year more than SR 1.6 billion were allocated for the maintenance of the roads.
Minister of Transportation of Egypt Mohammed Lutfi Mansour announced today that Umrah season for Egyptian worshippers who performed minor Hajj in Makkah has achieved an unprecedented success this year compared to the last five years.
In a statement, he attributed the achievement to the strict organizational, executive and technical measures taken in Egypt in coordination with the relevant Saudi authorities.
King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex produces more than 206 million publications
Riyadh, 19 September 07
Up to the end of Jumad-al-thani, 1428, Madinah-based King Fahd Holy Quran Printing Complex, established in 1405, produced more than 206 million publications.
A report released by the complex said the complex had produced 136,145,533 copies of the Holy Quran, 2,520,875 cassettes, 27,597,387 copies of the translation of the Holy Quran in addition 220,000 copies of the books of Sunnah (Prophet's teachings) and the Prophet's biography as well as 5,045,000 copies of other religious books.
The project of the complex was implemented on an area of 250,000 square meter.
The productive capacity of the complex amounts to about ten million copies per year, but this number can be increased to 30 million copies.
The complex produces translations of the meanings of the Holy Quran in 47 languages, including 24 Asian languages, 11 European languages and 12 African languages.
These languages include Albanian, Indonesian, Urdu, Turkish, Somalian, Chinese, French, English, Spanish, Korean, Persian, Greek, Vietnamese, Portuguese, and Swedish.
In line with the directives of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz the pilgrims are provided with copies of the publications issued by the complex every year when they start to leave the Kingdom after performing Hajj rituals.
The General Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques Affairs has made available an additional 16,000 water drums to the Zamzam Water Distribution Administration to meet the increased demand for Zamzam water inside the Holy Mosque and its courtyards during Ramadan.
“The administration received 16,000 new water drums for use in the current season. The drums have been placed at various locations in and around the mosque and are refilled several times a day,” Ayfan Al-Joaed, director of the Administration of Zamzam Water Distribution in the Grand Mosque, told Arab News yesterday.
Speaking about the average consumption of Zamzam inside the Holy Mosque, Al-Joaed said, “This is estimated at 2,600 cubic meters a day inside the Holy Mosque and 1,400 cubic meters outside.
More than 400 cubic meters of water is sent every day to the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.”
Minister of Islamic Affairs chairs Ministry's Higher Hajj Committee meeting
Riyadh, 16 September 07
Sheikh Salih bin Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh, The Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance who is also the Chairman of the Ministry's Higher Committee for Hajj Works chaired here today the Committee's first meeting for the Year 1428 H.
During the meeting the Committee reviewed a number of topics on the agenda including summary reports from all sectors of the Ministry, the achievements of the Ministry for Pilgrims during the last Hajj season1427H and preparations of the Ministry and its future plans for the next Hajj season.
The Committee also reviewed a brief report on the achievements of the Ministry during the last Haj season, noting that the total of distributed gifts of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques from the Holy Quran and translations of its meanings amounted to 1,801,380 copies in addition to 5,997,404 books on Hajj Rituals.
: 
: 
: 
