Work progresses on a temporary tiled passageway in the mataf (circumambulation) area in the Grand Mosque for movement of pilgrims with special needs. — Courtesy photo Saudi Gazette report MAKKAH — The basement and two floors of mataf (circumambulation area around the Holy Ka'ba) will be ready before the holy month of Ramadan, according to an official. Abdulmohsen Bin Abdulrahman, director of the department for projects and consultations at the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, said that a temporary special area for tawaf (circumambulation) is being constructed for pilgrims with special needs and that will also be completed before the fasting month, tentatively starting on July 9, Al-Watan Arabic daily reported. Abdulmohsen said that the temporary area will be on experimental basis and this area for wheelchairs will be separated from the place for others performing tawaf. “Four pillars have been erected and they will support an upper tiled passage designed for the movement of these pilgrims, and the passage will be linked to the first floor of the Grand Mosque. The entire phases of the temporary mataf area for the disabled and other pilgrims will be completed before Haj,” the official said. This area will be dismantled after completion of the mataf expansion project, where there will be a permanent special area for the disabled worshippers. Abdulmohsen said works on the mataf expansion project are being progressing well. “We are racing against time and working around the clock to finish the first phase of the project before Ramadan,” he said. Mataf expansion is part of the first phase of the ongoing largest ever expansion in the history of the Grand Mosque, for which Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah laid the foundation stone in August 2011. The SR80 billion project is designed to increase the mosque's capacity to more than two million worshippers, with an addition of 456,000 sq. meters area to the existing mosque, which has a total area of 356,000 sq. meters. The new expansion project include construction of a huge mosque building, expansion and development of courtyards around the mosque, including walkways, tunnels and toilets, and development of service facilities for air-conditioning, electricity and drinking water. A 1,200-meter tunnel will be constructed from the end of the expansion passing through Jabl Hindi while another tunnel with a length of 1,100 meters will be built under Jabl Madafie. An emergency 700-meter tunnel crossing the other two tunnels will be constructed from Jabl Al-Ka'ba. As part of the project, expansion of masaa (between Safa and Marwa) was completed earlier, and this increased capacity of the masaa from 44,000 to 118,000 pilgrims per hour.
