Riyadh: The General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques has distributed over 1,205,600 litres of Zamzam water using water cylinders to Umrah performers and visitors inside the Grand Holy Mosque during the first quarter (Muharram to Rabi Al-Awwal) of the year, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The water distribution covers the Mataf area, the public squares on the first floor, and the expansions of King Fahd and King Abdullah.
Director of the Zamzam Administration, Ahmad Bin Shanbar Al-Nadawi said that during the first quarter of this year six million bottles were distributed along the Grand Mosque and its yards through more than 1,000 workers, 190 back bags and 375 cylinder bags with a capacity of 10 litres for each bag; a total of 37,500 liters of Zamzam water per day.
The administration has also allocated 50 mobile carts to distribute Zamzam water in Tawaf (circumambulation) area and other areas allocated for Tawaf, with a total capacity of 80 litres of cold and normal water.
In March 2020, Saudi Arabia closed all outlets for selling Zamzam water as part of the measures taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a year later, the Kingdom resumed the distribution of bottles of Zamzam water from the King Abdullah project in Kudai.
The Zamzam project was inaugurated in 2010 by the late King Abdullah to enable water distribution to pilgrims in the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah.
The Zamzam well is located in Makkah al-Mukarramah, 21 meters east of Kaaba. It has an ancient history dating back to thousands of years. Being 30 meters deep, it holds a high spiritual value for Muslims who drink it, based on the hadiths of the Prophet saying that “Zamzam water is for what he drank.”
Zamzam water is of great value to Muslims and they usually drink it in the hope of overall wellbeing. Water distribution inside the Tawaf area for Umrah performers starts before Maghrib (sunset) prayer and lasts till to Fajr (dawn) prayer through cylinder bags.