By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA | ARAB NEWS

MAKKAH: The 176 gates of the Grand Mosque will be able to tell worshippers if the mosque is full or not using a traffic light system, director of the department of doors at the Presidency of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques Talal bin Saleh Al-Thaqafi announced on Friday.
If there is space, a green light by the door will be lit but if there is none a red light will show. Al-Thaqafi said the arrangement was put in place to let pilgrims know if there was space for them inside the Haram or not so that they can pray outside in the plazas.

He said the gates, which will remain open around the clock, were being manned by 800 men and women guards.

Al-Thaqafi said 20 gates have been designated for people with special needs, including the King Abdul Aziz gate. “The Grand Mosque has been supplied with a number of escalators to ensure the easy movement of pilgrims coming in or going out of the mosque,” he said.

He said guards at the gates would not allow entry of anything that might annoy pilgrims or impede their movement including baggage, food and drink.

Al-Thaqafi urged all worshippers to help ensure the cleanliness of the Grand Mosque and asked them to keep their valuables at special safes set up outside.

He also asked people coming to perform Umrah to avoid entering the mosque while worshippers were leaving after each prayer. “This will unnecessarily create congestion that could be avoided,” he said.