Hajj never used to be so safe and trouble-free for the foreign pilgrims, as it has become now, thanks to the phenomenal efforts made by the Saudi government towards that end. In the era presaging the advent of the Saudi government, despite the technological developments and great advances witnessed in transport and communications in the rest of the world, Hajj pilgrimage was fraught with many hardships and risks for the pilgrims. Primitive conditions prevailed in the holy land; there were no proper transport and communication facilities for the pilgrims.

They were exposed to all sorts of risks. Health facilities were non-existent, food and water was scarce and the journey from Jeddah to Makkah was unsafe. Due to due to poor law and order conditions bandits were on the loose. The holy mosques used to be over crowded and were in a poor state of repairs. No major expansion had taken place in Masjid Haraam for many hundreds of years. Many pilgrims used to carry their own provisions of food and other necessities and the pilgrimage used to take months.

It was only when King Abdul Aziz Aale Saud came to power in 1925 that an era of peace and development was ushered in the holy land. Not only the pilgrims' journey became safe but with every passing year more and more facilities were provided for them. Bold and ambitious projects were launched to improve road communications and make the pilgrims' journey safe.

Immediate repairs and renovation of Masjid Haraam were undertaken, and in order to accommodate the increasing number of pilgrims, the King order expansion of Masjid Haraam. The work on the project was completed 20 years after the death of King Abdul Aziz, but it enhanced the capacity of the mosque from a maximum of 1,50,000 worshippers to 3,27,000 and its area from a mere29,000 square meters to 1,60,000 square meters.

At the same time, vast new Improvements were made for the travel, stay, health and food for the pilgrims. There was, however, still much to be desired to enhance the safety of the pilgrims from fire, accidents and disease.

Therefore, soon after completion of the first expansion, King Fahad bin Abdul Aziz ordered the biggest ever expansion in Masjid Haraam and Masjidun Nabawi, which has transformed the two places beyond ones imagination . The capacity was increased to accommodate between 700,000 to 900,000 worshippers. The total area now stands at 2, 78,000 square meters and the court yard around the Masjid is about 3, 22,000 square meters.

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has continued the work of improvement and development at even greater pace. To ensure a trouble free Hajj ,massive new facilities have been built at Mina, Muzdalifah, Arafat and at other places and with the building of new infrastructure for Jamaraat, the ritual has become safe for everybody. A significant development that has take (taken) place during the past one year is the building of the Monorail linking Makkah and the other Hajj sites.

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