ISLAMABAD: Umrah pilgrims have hailed the Mataf expansion in Makkah as “distinguished” and “amazing” which would help them to perform the Hajj rituals comfortably during the Hajj 2016.
A private news channel reported that the visitors welcomed the expansion of Mataf undertaken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A pilgrim from Pakistan Mohammad Alam said that he did not expect the expansion to be done in such a “beautiful way” and he did not know that the Umrah rituals would become so easy as a result of this expansion, especially the ‘Tawaaf’ (circumambulation) of the Holy Kaaba.”My old mother did not get tired at all because of the facilities at the Haram,” he added.
A Yemeni pilgrim Hussein Maloub shared the same views, “The services provided by the Kingdom are exemplary. We thank the Saudi leadership and government for providing such facilities to the pilgrims,” he said.
The temporary Mataf was completely dismantled and removed recently, making much more room for worshippers to perform the congregational prayers near the Holy Kaaba. Now up to 30,000 worshippers can perform the ‘Tawaaf’ per hour, which is an increase of over 20,000 people per hour as compared to the previous times. The area can now also accommodate 105,000 worshippers per hour.
