Oud, Musk Fragrances Welcome Visitors to Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah during Ramadan

The Agency of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Prophet's Mosque has provided 28 kg of luxurious natural oud and 300 liters of fragrances and essential oils to perfume the Prophet’s Mosque and its visitors.
The Agency of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Prophet's Mosque has provided 28 kg of luxurious natural oud and 300 liters of fragrances and essential oils to perfume the Prophet’s Mosque and its visitors.
TT

Oud, Musk Fragrances Welcome Visitors to Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah during Ramadan

The Agency of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Prophet's Mosque has provided 28 kg of luxurious natural oud and 300 liters of fragrances and essential oils to perfume the Prophet’s Mosque and its visitors.
The Agency of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Prophet's Mosque has provided 28 kg of luxurious natural oud and 300 liters of fragrances and essential oils to perfume the Prophet’s Mosque and its visitors.

Visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, this Ramadan are set to experience tranquility and comfort away from the world’s troubles, allowing them to observe prayers and rituals in peace.

During Ramadan, Islam’s holy month of fasting, the mosque is traditionally filled with the whispers of worshipers and Quran reciters and the fragrant scent of oud, amber, and musk.

The Agency of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Prophet's Mosque has provided 28 kg of luxurious natural oud and 300 liters of fragrances and essential oils to perfume the Prophet’s Mosque and its visitors.

Throughout the month, the agency would have fragranced the mosque over 600 times.

Besides perfuming the premises, the agency has also intensified its efforts to sterilize the mosque and its facilities as part of efforts to provide services to visitors of the Prophet’s Mosque.

Statistics released by the agency show that the mosque and its courtyards are sterilized five times a day, and that toilets are cleaned about 10 times a day.

A total of 300 machines clean the carpets at the mosque and 92 machines, carrying 18,000 liters of environmentally friendly sterilizers, wash its floors.



Coffee Lovers Find Grounds for Complaint at Australian Open

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 General view of people buying coffee outside the courts. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 General view of people buying coffee outside the courts. (Reuters)
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Coffee Lovers Find Grounds for Complaint at Australian Open

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 General view of people buying coffee outside the courts. (Reuters)
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 15, 2025 General view of people buying coffee outside the courts. (Reuters)

Melbourne prides itself on serving up the world's best coffee, but finding a hot brew at the Australian Open has proved a challenge for some of the tens of thousands of fans attending this year's Grand Slam tennis tournament.

Organizers have worked hard over the last decade to improve options for refreshment and an array of outlets at the Melbourne Park precinct.

Yet long queues face fans looking to indulge their passion for the city's favorite beverage at the 15 coffee stores Tennis Australia says dot the 40-hectare (99-acre) site.

"We need more coffee places open," said Katherine Wright, who has been coming to the tournament for the five years as she lined up for a hot drink near the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.

"We are big coffee drinkers, especially Melburnians."

The Australian Open attracts more than 90,000 fans a day early on in the tournament, when ground passes are relatively cheap, offering the chance to watch main draw action on the outer courts.

Liz, another Melburnian, said she stood in line for half an hour for a cup of coffee on Sunday, when rain halted play for six hours on the outer courts.

"This is a well-established global event," she added. "You actually need to be providing better service to the consumer."

Melbourne imports about 30 tons of coffee beans a day, the Australian Science Education Research Association says, representing a surge of nearly eightfold over the past decade that is sufficient to brew 3 million cups of coffee.

For Malgorzata Halaba, a fan who came from Poland on Sunday for her second Australian Open, finding one of those 3 million cups was a must.

"It seems it took me a day and a half, and several kilometers of walking around the grounds, to find coffee," she said. "And jet-lagged as I am, coffee is a lifesaver."