Medina

Saudi Arabia has ambitions to be world's fifth most-visited destination

Saudi Arabia has ambitions to be world's fifth most-visited destination

As COVID-19 vaccination programs roll out across the world, tourism-dependent countries are feverishly hoping that visitors will return to their cleaner-than-ever shores from sometime this year, Nikkei Asia reports. One such country is Saudi Arabia, which now has ambitions to be the world's fifth most-visited destination by 2030. It may be hard to imagine this unlikely newcomer to global tourism outdoing a very affable Italy - the current titleholder with 65 million visitors in 2019 - but then stranger things have happened

Saudi Arabia to bar arrivals from abroad to attend haj

Saudi Arabia to bar arrivals from abroad to attend haj

Saudi Arabia said it will bar arrivals from abroad to attend the haj this year due to the coronavirus, allowing only a limited number of Saudi citizens and residents to make the pilgrimage with social distancing measures enforced. …

Saudi Arabia suspends praying in Two Holy Mosques for Ramadan

Saudi Arabia suspends praying in Two Holy Mosques for Ramadan

Saudi Arabia extended the suspension of praying in the Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque during the fasting month of Ramadan to stem the spread of the coronavirus, the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques’ Affairs said on Twitter. …

Mecca and Medina holy sites protected from coronavirus

Mecca and Medina holy sites protected from coronavirus

Saudi Arabia reopened two its holy religious sites, Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca and Al-Masjid al Nabawy in Medina, after they were closed for sterilisation to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus. It was not clear from the Al-Ekhbariya …

Nazarbayev arrives in Saudi Arabia

Nazarbayev arrives in Saudi Arabia

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev started his official two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, the press service of the Kazakh President said. Nazarbayev visited the western Saudi city of Medina, where he met with the …

Iranian pilgrims won't perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia

Iranian pilgrims won't perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia

Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pakayin said that this year Muslim countries will refuse to send pilgrims to perform the Hajj in Mecca and Medina, or reduce the number of pilgrims until Saudi Arabia provides safety guarantees. …

19 Egyptian pilgrims killed in accident in Saudi Arabia

19 Egyptian pilgrims killed in accident in Saudi Arabia

19 pilgrims from Egypt became victims of an accident in Saudi Arabia, another 25 people were injured, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt reports. A bus carrying 44 people overturned on the road between Mecca and Medina. All …