Latest updates from top global and Saudi news sources
Last updated: 21 Sep 2026, 11:04 AM (Saudi time)
Saudi Arabia is expanding digital systems at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, aiming to make it one of the world's smartest sites by 2030, with smart mobility, digital iftar management, the Rafed platform and interactive mapping.
Saudi authorities have advised Umrah pilgrims that the Grand Mosque is quietest from 10pm to 4am and 9am to 4pm, while the evening hours of 5pm to 9pm are busiest.
Saudi Arabia's digital overhaul of the Grand Mosque has cut pilgrim transport waits from two hours to nine minutes and now manages 38 million iftar meals digitally, part of a push to make the site among the world's smartest by 2030.
Saudi Arabia's Third Expansion of the Grand Mosque is advancing as part of a wider transformation of Makkah and Madinah aimed at hosting tens of millions of pilgrims annually under Vision 2030.
Saudi Arabia's Hajj minister said more than 19 million people visited Al-Rawdah Al-Sharifah in the Prophet's Mosque over two years, as the Umrah and Ziyarah Forum opened in Madinah.
Saudi authorities have advised Umrah pilgrims that the Grand Mosque is quietest from 10pm to 4am and 9am to 4pm, and busiest from 5pm to 9pm, and encouraged the use of live crowd-density tools to plan Tawaf and Sa'i.
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