RIYADH: With Eid Al-Adha due to be celebrated nationwide on Sunday, the capital wore a deserted look on Friday as Saudis and expatriates alike left the city for the Haj holidays.
While many Saudis left for Dubai and other tourist destinations, a number of expatriates were bound for the Eastern Province and nearby areas to enjoy the break.
The new crescent was sighted on Thursday evening last week, setting the stage for Arafat Day on Saturday and Eid the following day.
A visit to the offices of Haj operators in the downtown Al-Batha and Hayyl Wuzarat areas revealed feverish activity taking place at the booking counters Thursday, with pilgrims due to leave for Makkah.
As for those staying back in the capital, there were attractions galore at the malls, amusements parks, Riyadh Zoo and the slew of parks.
Panda and Tamimi supermarkets have announced that they will remain open 24 hours daily except for prayer times. They have also promotional sales on a range of products during the festival season.
For those looking forward to a visit to the Riyadh Zoo, the timings are as follows: Sunday 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (men); Monday 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (women); Tuesday 8:30 am-12 noon (men), 1-5:30 p.m. (families); Wednesday 8:30 a.m.-12 noon (women) and 1 p.m.-5:30 p.m. (family); Thursday 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (family); Friday 1-5:30 p.m. (family). Entrance fee SR10 (adult), SR5 (children).
Not to be left behind, mobile service operators jumped on the bandwagon with their package of services for pilgrims.
Mobily's vice president of corporate communications and public relations Hamoud Al-Ghobaini said the network in Makkah this year witnessed an increase of 225 percent in receiving international calls compared to the same period last year.
Al-Ghobaini expects the number of calls to increase during the Haj period and assured pilgrims of hassle-free service.
In the aviation sector, Travelport, a business services provider to the global travel industry, announced that Galileo and Worldspan-connected travel agents globally can now benefit from enhanced connectivity on flight bookings with Saudi Arabian Airlines.
To this end, Saudia has upgraded its agreement with the GDS provider, opting to leverage Travelport's cutting-edge "inside availability" technology to ensure the highest level of connectivity on all bookings made through the Galileo and Worldspan reservation systems.
Meanwhile, Alinma Bank has announced that pilgrims in Makkah and Madinah will have access to financial services. Its Al-Aziziyah branch in Makkah and the Khalidiyah branch in Madinah will be open for business from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. throughout the Eid holidays, including Thursday and Friday. Other branches operating during the vacation include Takhassusi branch in Riyadh, Tubaishi branch on Prince Muhammad bin Fahd Road in Dammam, and Rawdah branch on Sari Street in Jeddah.
© Arab News 2011
