Makkah to have world’s longest walkway

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Tuesday 28 Apr 2015 - 13:57 Makkah mean time-9-7-1436 Makkah (IINA) – The new pedestrian road leading to Arafat from Makkah is nearing completion and will be opened before the next Haj season, according to a senior official of Makkah Municipality.  Hisham Shilly, director of the municipality's department of parks and public utilities, told the Makkah newspaper that the first and second stages of the road project have already been completed and work is going smoothly on the third and final phase. “The road will no doubt be the longest walkway in the whole world,” he said. Shilly recalled that work on the road project started about two years ago and will be officially launched sometime in September. “After completion, the use of the long walkway will not be restricted to the pedestrian pilgrims only but will also be used as a public park by Makkah residents,” he said. Shilly said the walkway is part of a network of roads for pedestrian pilgrims to use between Arafat and the Grand Mosque. “This network includes the parallel road of Namira Mosque and Al-Mishaer Al-Haram Road in Muzdalifah,” he said. The director said the third and final phase of the walkway will be covered by tiles and rugs and supported by other utilities consisting of sales points, security centers, ambulance services and others. He said the municipality has already opened 13 new pedestrian roads and added that some of the valley bottoms will be used as pedestrian roads. Shilly said the converting of valley bottoms into roads has given the area a civilized look and put an end to the bad smell, flies and mosquitoes. HA/IINA