MAKKAH – Projects to refurbish historic Hira and Thor caves in the holy city of Makkah will be carried out urgently taking advantage of the lockdown period. Directives to this effect have been issued by Emir of Makkah Province Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said Saturday. Prince Badr Bin Sultan, deputy emir of Makkah Province, has been assigned the task of monitoring the projects. Hira lies about two miles from the Grand Mosque. The cave is a little less than 4 meters in length and a little more than one and a half meters in width. It was here that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) received the first revelations of the Holy Qur'an during the month of Ramadan in 610 CE. In the Thur cave, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his companion Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) hid for three days from the Quraish tribe. To protect the two men, Allah Almighty had a spider spin a web at the cave's entrance, preventing their enemies from seeing within and finding them. The two development projects are being supervised by a team comprising the Emirate of Makkah Province, the Royal Commission for Makkah and the Holy Sites, the Commission for Development of Makkah Province, Makkah Mayoralty and Makkah Police. The aim is to remove all the changes introduced at the two sites visually disfiguring the sites throughout the past years. The refurbishing of the two caves seemed a difficult task in normal times when these places would have been crowded by pilgrims from across the world. The sites will now be restored to their original status through several stages. During the first 30-day stage, rocks will be cleaned of all inscriptions and drawings. The writing on the walls of the two caves will completely be cleaned. Also along the two roads leading to the two caves, the same cleaning process will be carried out, using the latest scientific methods. In addition, concrete structures, zinc canopies and wooden structures will be demolished. During the remaining stages, the environs surrounding the two caves and the roads leading to them will be developed. A number of utilities and facilities will be constructed to serve visitors to the two sites.
