City authorities as well as residents of Madinah have made all necessary preparations to receive pilgrims who have completed the Hajj rituals and are heading to the city before leaving their home countries. Over the next few days, more than 750,000 pilgrims are expected to visit the Prophet's Mosque, according to a report published by Arabic newspaper 'Okaz.' At least 285 volunteers from the Saudi Red Crescent Authority will be providing pilgrims with a plethora of services inside the mosque. All checkpoints at the entries of Madinah have seen intensive traffic after the first batch of pilgrims of 160,000 left Sunday for Madinah after completing the Hajj rites in Makkah. There are 4,000 employees working at these checkpoints. The Prophet's city has 1,200 hotels with a total capacity of 390,000 pilgrims; some of them are located inside the central area while others further away from the Prophet's Holy Mosque. All 100 gates of the Prophet's Holy Mosque will be kept open round the clock for the pilgrims. Supervisors will organize the movement of pilgrims to prevent crowding at the gates. Guidance pamphlets in different languages will be distributed to pilgrims.
