[custom_adv] Saudi Arabia partially reopened Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site, on Saturday but left the ban on pilgrimages in place as part of the kingdom's measures to combat the coronavirus. [custom_adv] Based on a royal decree by King Salman, the holy site reopened on Saturday morning for those seeking to perform the tawaf ritual, which involves walking around the sacred Kaaba, a black boxed structure in the mosque complex. However, visitors will not be permitted to touch the Kaaba. [custom_adv] The decision "allows the opening of the area around Kaaba for non-Umrah visitors performing tawaf, effective at dawn on Saturday, in accordance with the drawn plan," a statement by the mosque director read. [custom_adv] Saudi Arabia had introduced a series of measures since Thursday to protect the two holy mosques of Mecca and Medina from the coronavirus, also known as Covid-19. [custom_adv] According to Saudi officials, the rules included the closure of both mosques between the evening Isha prayers and morning Fajr prayers, and a ban on food entering the two complexes. [custom_adv] Mount Safa and Mount Marwa inside the Great Mosque in Mecca would also be closed until a ban on Umrah pilgrimages is lifted. The earlier decision also included closing off Zamzam water dispensaries within both mosques. [custom_adv] Riyadh on Wednesday introduced a ban on Saudi citizens, residents and foreigners hoping to visit Mecca and Medina for the Umrah pilgrimage, leaving thousands of Muslims with Umrah plans worldwide in limbo.
