Public Prayer Rug

If one is observant when walking around the city, it is easy to spot rolled up prayer rugs outside of businesses in public, waiting to be used for the next prayer by whoever wants to use it.  

Saudi Arabia Corona Virus Measures

Since the Corona virus scare, the Saudi government has taken swift measures to ensure the safety of the citizens. There is a huge difference in the way Saudi Arabia has handled this crisis compared to America.
These are some of the measures taken by the Saudi government -
Before the end of February, religious pilgrims were prohibited until further notice from coming into the country, before any cases of the virus were confirmed within the country.
All international flights were ceased , followed by domestic flights and other forms of domestic travel shortly thereafter.
Schools have been closed until next fall, with virtual instruction being implemented at the moment.
The only businesses allowed open are pharmacies, groceries, and gas stations.
Restaurants are available for take out or delivery only.
A curfew has taken effect, with no one allowed out from 7pm to 6am and violators will be charged a fine of 10,000 Saudi Riyals. 
Mosques are closed, with the Calls to Prayer telling people instead to pray at home!  (This is unprecedented, as far as I have been told.) 

These boxes on the Red Sea house prayer rugs

As of March 24th, the total number of cases in Saudi Arabia was under 800, with one death.
Kudos to Saudi Arabia for putting the health of its citizens first, ahead of the economy.

Jeddah - A Peek at Prayer Time

Maghrib is the 4th prayer of the day for Muslims and it takes place at sundown.  There is one more prayer then a little later in the evening, making a total of five prayers daily.  Men can be seen rushing to the mosque for prayers, removing their shoes before entering.  Women usually pray at home.  Most mosques usually have cubby holes outside for shoes, but I rarely see them being used - I don't know why.

There is a call to prayer announced over loudspeakers from each mosques, alerting Muslims to get ready. Ablution is a requirement preceding prayer, which is a specific prescribed manner of properly washing up before praying and includes washing parts of the body with water in a certain order.  Mosques also provide an area outside the mosque where ablution can be performed.

The prayer then begins, and inevitably there will be latecomers.  Many mosques are located in residential neighborhoods as well as in business areas.  There is always a mosque within walking distance in most places. 

When the prayer concludes, the streets are filled with men leaving the mosque as they return to their homes or workplaces.  You can see the two shops to the left closed for prayer with only a piece of fabric covering up the front of the shop. 

Minaret Closeup

Mosques are usually identifiable in Saudi Arabia by the minarets which house the loud speakers used for the calls to prayer. This is a more modest minaret compared to many I have seen here.

Jeddah's Oldest Minaret

Whether or not this is Jeddah's oldest mosque minaret, I am not sure, but I was told that it was on a recent tour I took down in Al Balad, the old historic part of Jeddah.  The minarets are equipped with loudspeakers which carry the melodic voices of the muezzin, who sings the calls to prayer (called adhan) five times every day. 

For those of you who are interested in hearing the call to prayer, below is a beautiful example of a Filipino man singing the call to prayer in the style of Sheikh Mohammed Mulla, the famous muezzin of the Grand Mosque in Makkah.