Mecca

Saudi Arabia has stopped over 269,600 people without Hajj permits from entering Mecca ahead of this year's pilgrimage. Authorities say unauthorized pilgrims cause overcrowding and were a major factor in last year’s heat-related deaths. Over 23,000 residents have been penalized and 400 Hajj company licenses revoked. The government has introduced strict fines, deportations, and even deployed drones to monitor the pilgrimage. With 1.4 million official pilgrims already in Mecca, the Hajj is under tight surveillance to ensure safety and order.

Saudi Arabia blocks over 269,000 Muslims from entering Mecca, cites overcrowding and heat risks

Officials have also imposed penalties on more than 23,000 Saudi residents for violating Hajj regulations and revoked the licenses of 400 Hajj companies.

Saudi Arabia opens foreign property investments in holy cities

Non-Muslims are not allowed to own property in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, even after Saudi Arabia gradually allowed some foreigners to own property in various parts of the kingdom.

Egypt revokes licenses of 16 tourism firms after pilgrims die in Mecca

Medical and security sources indicate that at least 530 Egyptians died during the haj. A crisis unit, established on Thursday and headed by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, confirmed that 31 of these deaths were attributed to chronic illnesses.

Elderly woman saved lakhs in box for Mecca pilgrimage. Termites destroyed the money

The elderly woman had set aside approximately Rs 5.40 lakh in a box, hoping to make the sacred journey to Mecca in 2024.

In pics: Millions of pilgrims attend annual Hajj pilgrimage — five things to know

During the annual rituals which are likely to surpass attendance records, more than two million devotees from 160 nations are likely to visit Islam's holiest venue.

In Pics | Essentials for Hajj: A guide to the gear for pilgrimage

This is a five-day event that taking place in the last month of the Islamic calendar in which about two million people complete this pilgrimage every year.

Millions head to Mecca for huge hajj in Saudi heat: All you need to know

Pilgrims in white robes and sandals packed the ancient city, now dotted with luxury hotels and air-conditioned shopping malls, after flooding in on planes, buses and trains for the annual rites.

SpiceJet launches Hajj operations with special flights from five cities

SpiceJet will operate these special flights to Jeddah between 7th June and 22nd June, 2023. Return flights from Medina are also scheduled from 17th July to 2nd August, 2023.

Shah Rukh Khan visits Vaishno Devi temple ahead of 'Pathaan' release | Watch

Shah Rukh Khan had also visited Mecca earlier this month after filming for his next movie 'Dunki' in Saudi Arabia.

Shah Rukh Khan performs Umrah in Mecca. See video and photos

Shah Rukh Khan was in Saudi Arabia to shoot for his upcoming film 'Dunki'. He also accepted an award at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

Saudi Arabia working with Lazard on funding options and IPO of Mecca mega project

The kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, which has over $600 billion in assets, is working with the U.S. financial advisory on Masar, and several other projects including the $500 billion economic zone NEOM, said the sources, declining to be named as the matter was not public.

Saudi Arabia to allow 1 million pilgrims to visit Mecca, with COVID precautions

The pilgrims must be vaccinated against COVID-19, be under 65 and test negative for the virus within 72 hours of leaving for Saudi Arabia, the ministry said in a statement.

Covid-19 outbreak | Grand Mosque in Mecca drops social distancing

The Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia operated at full capacity on October 17, with worshippers praying shoulder-to-shoulder for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Faith, sport and festival: the month in religion

A number of images captured by AP photographers around the world in July highlighted a seemingly unlikely interplay between the world of faith and the more secular, recreational realm of sports.

For the first time, Saudi women stand guard in Mecca during haj

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pushed through social and economic reforms as part of plans to modernise the conservative Muslim kingdom and attract foreign investment under a diversification drive.

Saudi King Salman sacks haj minister in royal decrees

Haj and Umrah, which generated billions of dollars each year before the pandemic, is a major source of income for the Saudi government.

In Mecca, a fortunate few pray for a pandemic-free world

Saudi Arabia stakes its reputation on its guardianship of Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina and its peaceful organisation of haj, which has been marred in the past by deadly stampedes, fires and riots.

In pics | A few hundred pilgrims reach Mecca for downsized hajj amid COVID-19 fears

For the first time in the history of Saudi Arabia, no pilgrims from abroad are permitted to take part in the hajj due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Pilgrims move several feet apart as they keep social distancing to limit exposure and the potential transmission of the novel COVID-19 at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca.

Pilgrims arrive in Mecca for downsized hajj amid coronavirus pandemic

The hajj, which begins on Wednesday, normally draws around 2.5 million people for five intense days of worship in one of the world's largest gatherings of people from around the world.

Saudi Binladin seeks adviser for financial overhaul of Mecca complex

Binladin completed the $15 billion government-owned Abraj Al Beit golden clocktower complex in 2011. The development has seven towers of hotels and malls and looms over the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the holy city visited by millions of Muslim pilgrims every year.

Saudi Arabia high-speed rail line to start operating in September

The railway linking Islam's holiest cities, which was initially scheduled to open at the end of 2016, had a cost overrun of 210 million euros which Saudi Arabia has agreed to pay, the Al-Shoula consortium added in a statement.

Saudi Arabia okays India's plan to ferry Haj pilgrims via sea route: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

"Saudi Arabia has given its nod to revive the option of sending pilgrims by sea route...Officials from both the countries will discuss all the necessary formalities and technicalities so that Haj pilgrimage through sea route can be started in the coming years," Naqvi said according to the statement.

Two million pilgrims converge on Mecca for the hajj

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, and it also provides the largest number of pilgrims for the hajj.

Haj application process in UP likely to be linked with Aadhaar

Officials believe that this would help in identifying those who had undertaken the pilgrimage more than once.