MAKKAH – Traders in the commercial markets in Makkah said 80 percent of shoppers at the malls in the vicinity of the Grand Mosque are Umrah pilgrims and visitors and the remaining 20 percent are residents of the city. They attributed the small percentage of local shoppers to the lack of parking lots in the area surrounding the Grand Mosque where the markets are located and the difficulty in finding parking space due to the strict measures imposed by the Traffic Department. Majed Al-Atawi, owner of one of the shops in Al-Bait Towers said, “We in the towers have a big market, which has many shops selling imported goods as well. These shops contain all the requirements needed by shoppers, but what has been observed is that the majority of shoppers are people from outside Makkah, including visitors and Umrah pilgrims. Only a very small percentage of Makkawis come to our markets.” Al-Atawi added, “Undoubtedly, the percentage of marketing products is high, as the location of these markets is distinctive, in the vicinity of the Grand Mosque. Therefore, if parking lots were available, there would be more shoppers who are Makkah residents. Hence, we would guarantee continuity of turnover of goods throughout the year.” For his part, Saeed Badah, a resident of Makkah, said, “There are big markets in the vicinity of the Haram, but regrettably we cannot go there due to the lack of parking lots. Makkah Mayoralty should have addressed this problem and taken the initiative to build car parks in harmony with the many development projects being carried out by the government in the vicinity of the Grand Mosque. It is due to these ongoing projects that we cannot find parking space, not even for minutes to perform prayers in the Grand Mosque.” Badah added, “There are a few car parks but the charges are too high – SR25 for one hour. The car parks of hotels and some of the others in the surroundings of the Haram are being used to full capacity. These have also started hiking the charges to unaffordable levels.” Brig. Gen. Mish'al Al-Maghribi, Director of Makkah Traffic Department, confirmed that there is a shortage of parking space in the Central Area. There are only two car parksand several SAPTCO bus stops. These buses carry Umrah pilgrims and visitors from their hotels to the Grand Mosque. He added that his department strives to strike some kind of balance in the Central Area of the Haram by allowing vehicles to park at restricted locations so as to allow motorists to pray. They have to move their vehicles after prayer, and are given half an hour after prayer to do so. After that the vehicles are towed a
