Liked on YouTube: Kaaba deserted as Saudi Arabia suspends pilgrimage

Kaaba deserted as Saudi Arabia suspends pilgrimage

(6 Mar 2020) The holiest site in Islam - the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca - was empty during Friday prayers in a dramatic illustration of Saudi Arabia's fight to stop the spread of the new coronavirus. Video showed the mosque, which contains the Kaaba, entirely deserted except for security and maintenance staff. Saudi Arabia decided on Wednesday to block access to the site, expanding its move last week to stop foreigners visiting Mecca and Medina. That decision alone disrupted travel for thousands already headed to the kingdom and potentially affects plans for millions more ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan and the annual hajj pilgrimage. The Kaaba is a place of pilgrimage that able-bodied Muslims are required to visit at least once in their lives. Millions of people visit it every year, most of them from abroad. Find out more about AP Archive: https://ift.tt/1CUvJt1 Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://ift.tt/2mlr9BZ Google+: https://plus.google.com/b/102011028589719587178/+APArchive​ Tumblr: https://aparchives.tumblr.com/​​ Instagram: https://ift.tt/2G5Qog8 You can license this story through AP Archive: https://ift.tt/38G1G9i
via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hUuuToZuV0