The Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques has charted an intensive plan to receive the visitors to the Prophet's Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan, which starts next week, Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdur Rahman Al-Hussayyen, chief of the presidency in Makkah, has said. Talking to Saudi Gazette here on Wednesday, Sheikh Al-Hussayyen said 1,970 workmen consisting of engineers, technicians, and skilled and unskilled workers have been pressed into service at the Prophet's Mosque to keep the mosque clean and provide services to visitors. A station fitted with large transformers, approximately seven km from the mosque, cools the entire mosque by pumping cool, fresh air through a network connected to the structure's colonnades. The Prophet's Mosque has six two-way elevators to enable worshippers to go up to and down from the first floor. Two sections have been set aside for women, on the eastern and western sides of the mosque. These two sections can accommodate more than 50,000 women and have been provided with separate toilets. Toilets for both men and women are kept clean around-the-clock. The Prophet's Mosque has 85 fully guarded gates manned by 400 employees who work in shifts. In addition, 50 female guards have been deployed at the gates of the women's sections. These guards have been instructed not to allow food inside the mosque except Saudi coffee and tea. Al-Hussayyen further said that the management has appointed religious scholars to instruct visitors on the correct way of performing prayers and other rituals according to the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). These scholars also give sermons in small groups at 11:30 A.M., after Asr prayers and between Maghreb and Isha prayers. Similarly, women scholars give sermons on various aspects of Islam. These sermons are given in a number of languages. Al-Hussayyen added that under the orders of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, sunshades have been erected in the open plazas covering an area of 30,500 sq. meters. The sunshades have 18,700 carpets, each accommodating 16 worshippers. Thus the open plazas accommodate about 250,000 worshippers on three sides of the Prophet's Mosque.
