The Kingdom has been honored with serving the Two Holy Mosques and hosting pilgrims to the Grand Mosque in Makkah and Umrah pilgrims and visitors to the Prophet's Mosque. This year witnessed the flow of a huge number of people, the like of which has not occurred in history, as the number of Umrah pilgrims reached nearly 5 million during the holy month of Ramadan. This huge flow of Umrah pilgrims received the attention of the leadership at the highest levels with close follow-up of the details in all that is related to the comfort and safety of the Guests of Allah from the moment they enter the country until their departure to their countries while seeking the reward from Allah Almighty. This historic event that the leadership has accorded great attention is incomparable. The leadership's concern and attention were reflected in the standard of all the security and services sectors to make this season a success without a single incident clouding it and without a single Umrah pilgrim being delayed from carrying out what he had come for. No fair person can ignore this great success or not salute those who contributed in the successful management of a huge number of people present at one place and at the same time. According to international criteria, the most crowded occasion in the world after Haj is the World Cup, whose spectators do not exceed 300,000 only at one place. In terms of density, this is followed by the Rio de Janeiro Carnival in Brazil. Both the latter events have never been accident-free throughout their history despite prior planning and preparations years before the event. The confusion that took place regarding the departure dates for some Egyptian and Algerian Umrah pilgrims, who were in a hurry to leave before their departure dates for which they had confirmed bookings, in turn caused confusion to their airlines, which had to find alternative flights and new reservations on other airlines at a critical and difficult time. This matter is normal in such a situation and should not be accorded more than what it deserves and should be dealt with within its due sphere. Nevertheless, the historic success achieved through collective efforts under the care and follow-up by the leadership has received the gratitude and appreciation of the Haj and Umrah pilgrims to Makkah. Aside from the official appreciation for the wise leadership by the Muslim governments after the success of every Haj or Umrah season, the unprecedented interaction and the millions of messages of thanks and appreciation on the social networks and online forums not only from the Muslim countries but the whole world bear witness to this. Therefore, we Saudis have a right to be proud of the Islamic honor in serving the Two Holy Mosques and visitors to them and the performance that has reached high standards including construction of the infrastructure and use of modern technology in the management of the largest crowds at one place and on the same day and hour. __
