Two hundred of the planned 250 sunshades are already operational in the open plazas outside the Prophet's Mosque here, Sheikh Abdulwahid Al-Khatabi, Director of Public Relations at the Prophet's Mosque Affairs, has said. The new sunshades will protect 700,000 worshippers from the sun. The mosque, excluding the plazas, can accommodate 240,000 worshippers at off-peak times. The rest of the sunshades as per the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' expansion plan, will soon be installed and become operational, Al-Khatabi said. During the holy month of Ramadan, Al-Khatabi said, 2,300 employees of both genders have been recruited to provide round-the-clock comfort to worshippers. These temporary employees have undergone a training course on dealing with the thousands of worshippers who will come to the Prophet's Mosque during the holy month, he said. The official added that the “Ramadan plan” includes providing 10,600 carpets inside the mosque, on the roof and on parts of the open plazas. Workers have been told not to allow the entry of food during Iftar except for dates, coffee, yogurt and bread, he said. Three different timings have been allotted for women to visit the Ar-Rawdha area of the mosque. The first begins from after Fajr prayer and ends just before Dhuhr prayer; the second is from after Dhuhr prayer to before Asr prayer; the third is from after Isha prayer to 2.30 A.M. However, the official added, during the last ten days of Ramadan, the third period will be canceled because of late night prayers.
