The vast white marble floors surrounding Islam’s holiest site, the cube-shaped Kaaba in Mecca, would normally be packed with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from around the world the day before the hajj. The select few approved for this year’s hajj have been tested for the virus and are self-isolating in hotel rooms in Mecca, where they will experience an ancient pilgrimage — albeit tailored this year for a modern-day global pandemic. Amr Al-Maddah, the chief planning officer at the Ministry of Hajj, is helping incorporate the latest technology into the pilgrimage such as thermal scanners and electronic ID cards.
The vast white marble floors surrounding Islam’s holiest site, the cube-shaped Kaaba in Mecca, would normally be packed with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from around the world the day before the hajj. The select few approved for this year’s hajj have been tested for the virus and are self-isolating in hotel rooms in Mecca, where they will experience an ancient pilgrimage — albeit tailored this year for a modern-day global pandemic. Amr Al-Maddah, the chief planning officer at the Ministry of Hajj, is helping incorporate the latest technology into the pilgrimage such as thermal scanners and electronic ID cards.