By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA & MD RASOOLDEEN | ARAB NEWS

MAKKAH/RIYADH: The Grand Mosque in Makkah is filled to the brim with worshippers these days as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have come from all over the world to perform Umrah and attend taraweeh and qiyamullail prayers, seeking the blessings of Lailat Al-Qadr (night of power).

The Civil Defense department in Makkah gave Arab News a rare opportunity to take aerial photos of the Grand Mosque on the 21st night of Ramadan on Saturday sitting in their helicopter and at the initiative of Maj. Gen. Muhammad Al-Harbi, commander of aviation in the Kingdom.

The S92 model helicopter was piloted by Capt. Abdul Aziz Al-Dhufyan and 1st Lt. Ziyad Al-Otaibi.

The helicopter had come from Jeddah and was flying at a height of 4,000 feet at a speed of 80 knots. READ MORE