The third Saudi expansion of the Grand Mosque continues to provide its services to visitors of the Holy Kaaba, representing a historic expansion project considered the largest ever. It signifies a highly significant development in the integrated service system provided to worshippers, offering a comprehensive spiritual environment in accordance with the highest engineering and operational specifications.

The area of this expansion is approximately 1,214,000 square meters, with a cooling capacity reaching 90,000 tons, ensuring comfortable conditions for worship year-round. The expansion includes more than 25,000 prayer rugs, 17,000 Zamzam water dispensers, over 11,433 toilets and ablution sites, in addition to 1,300 loudspeakers to ensure sound clarity throughout the expansion.

The expansion contains 558 mashrabiyas (lattice screens), 428 escalators, 28 elevators, 80 doors, and 120 prayer halls, aiming to facilitate the movement of pilgrims and visitors between the various levels: ground, first, second, first mezzanine, second mezzanine, in addition to the roof, to achieve high flow and accommodate the largest possible number of worshippers.

The third Saudi expansion forms a fundamental element in operational plans, where work teams exert continuous efforts to ensure the readiness of all facilities and services and raise their performance level, aiming to provide the utmost degrees of comfort and safety for visitors to the Grand Mosque.

The services in the expansion rely on the integration of modern technologies, engineering skills, and human competencies, to ensure the provision of a safe and facilitated worship environment, encouraging worshippers towards devotion and tranquility in performing their rituals, with the continuous development and improvement of services and the visitor experience.

This expansion embodies the profound interest in the Two Holy Mosques and the keenness to provide all capabilities to serve the Guests of the Most Merciful, through developing infrastructure and enhancing operational, maintenance, cleaning, and guidance systems.

The Grand Mosque

The Grand Mosque, also known as the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, is a monumental place of worship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Completed in 2007, it was initiated by the UAE’s founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to symbolize cultural diversity and Islamic architecture. It is renowned for its vast white marble courtyards, the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet, and stunning reflective pools.

the Holy Kaaba

The Holy Kaaba is the most sacred site in Islam, a cuboid structure located at the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Islamic tradition holds that it was originally built by the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ismail (Ishmael) as a monotheistic sanctuary for God. It is the focal point (*qibla*) towards which Muslims around the world direct their five daily prayers and the central destination of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

the Two Holy Mosques

The Two Holy Mosques refer to **Al-Masjid al-Haram** in Mecca, which houses the Kaaba and is Islam’s holiest site, and **Al-Masjid an-Nabawi** in Medina, which contains the Prophet Muhammad’s tomb. Their history is foundational to Islam, with the mosque in Mecca dating back to the time of Abraham and the one in Medina established by the Prophet Muhammad in 622 CE after his migration. Today, they are the focal points of the annual Hajj pilgrimage and have been continuously expanded over centuries to accommodate millions of worshippers.