Pilgrims who took shelter from heavy rain in Mecca on Tuesday received assistance when the General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques distributed umbrellas to visitors of the Grand Mosque.
Khaled bin Fahd Al-Shalwi, Assistant General President of the Agency for Social, Volunteer and Humanitarian Services, said that the «Umbrella of the Mutamer» initiative is part of a range of services designed to help visitors perform their rituals.
He added that the programs and services are under the guidance of the President for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, who seeks to provide a safe environment enabling visitors of the Grand Mosque to perform their rituals with ease.
According to the presidency's website, the president also employed more than 200 supervisors, 4,000 men and women, and used more than 500 pieces of equipment to combat rain in the Grand Mosque through its environmental protection agency.
Ahmed bin Omar Bilamash, Assistant General President for Services and Achievements of the Environmental Protection Agency, said that prayer areas, entrances and exits, as well as the mataf — the space for circumambulation around the Kaaba — are equipped to withstand precipitation.