Latest updates from top global and Saudi news sources
Last updated: 27 Jul 2026, 12:22 PM (Saudi time)
Knight Frank reports that Makkah and Madinah hotels stayed resilient in early 2026, with Makkah the Kingdom's top market, as Saudi Arabia builds toward 30 million pilgrims a year by 2030.
King Salman has approved opening completed sections of the King Abdullah expansion at the Grand Mosque, adding space for at least 500,000 more worshippers as Umrah demand rises.
A Makkah exhibition is displaying six 19th-century marble tiles that once decorated the Grand Mosque, part of a Saudi effort to preserve and showcase the heritage of Islam's two holiest sites.
Saudi Arabia has begun building an 8.5 million square metre waste processing city south of Mecca, designed to meet the holy city's environmental needs and serve millions of pilgrims for up to 60 years.
The Holy Kaaba was draped in a new kiswa on June 16 to mark the Hijri year 1448 AH, the work of about 150 craftsmen over 11 months using 47 pieces of black silk and gold-plated silver thread.
Authorities in Madinah have expanded digital services at the Prophet's Mosque, adding real-time prayer-area monitoring, smart indoor maps and live sermon translation, while telecom operator stc lifted network capacity by 18 percent for the peak season.
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