What to find inside the expanded Masjid al- Haram

By Our Reporter

The expansion of Masijd al-Haram in Makkah is taking shape, with return visitors to the holy city often finding new additions to the architecture.

Under the new design, all the ways to the Grand Mosque will undergo a significant change.

This is part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s $100 billion expansion project of Makkah’s Masjid Al-Haram to allow 30 million worshippers, at the same time, by the year 2030.

Throughout the year, Saudi Arabia welcomes millions of pilgrims who come to the Kingdom to perform the pilgrimage, Umrah and there is need to make their stay comfortable.

One of the areas given emphasis in the latest expansion is the sound system.

The sound network consists of over 8,000 speakers installed inside Masjid Al Haram, its courtyards, new expansions, and surrounding roads. To ensure its smooth operation, more than 120 engineers and technicians monitor it permanently before each fardh prayer.

Several maintenance engineers supervise backup microphones installed around the clock to ensure the sound source keeps working even in case of a malfunction. In addition, a sound balance is maintained within the Mataf area using the surrounding speakers.

Relatedly, more than 120,000 lighting units have been installed in Masjid Al Haram using the latest international technologies.

This project marks the Saudi government’s third expansion of the Al Haram Mosque; the last renovation took place in 2015 in response to a royal decree that was issued by King Salman.

The expansion plan is going through five main phases:

1. Al Haram Mosque (main building) extension

2. Building new courtyards

3. Building pedestrian tunnels

4. Setting up a Central Services Station at Al Haram Mosque

5. And construction of a ring road project surrounding Al Haram Mosque

More advanced technology will be applied to the Mosque, including building more advanced bridges, transportation stations, security buildings and hospitals.

 

In addition, 78 automatic doors will be built to surround the entire ground floor of the Mosque.

This phase of expansion also includes the construction of a multi-level extension on the north side of the complex, new stairways and tunnels, a gate named after King Abdullah, and two minarets; bringing the total number of minarets to eleven. The Mataf (circumbulation area around Kaba) has also been expanded.

Once the project has been completed, the Al Haram Mosque area would have expanded by two-thirds to reach an estimated area of 1.5 million square meters.

The project falls in line with the “Saudi Vision 2030,” which is a plan set in motion by Saudi’s millennial Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and one that hopes to “reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation and tourism.”