Friday, July 27, 2018

JEDDAH: An updated version of the Manasikana application has been launched, offering improved services on smart devices to help pilgrims and visitors during their journeys of faith to the holy sites.

The application has support for eight languages, including Arabic, English, French, Urdu, Turkish, Malay and Bengali. The features it provides include maps of Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and the holy sites, which highlight a wide range of places of particular interest to pilgrims. After downloading the offline maps application, users can easily access information about the areas, including the boundaries of the Haram and Holy places, without needing an Internet connection.

Launching the updated app, Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Mohammed Saleh bin Taher Benten stressed that the new version will help pilgrims perform the rituals more easily by providing information such as gathering times, details of the stoning of the jamarat, and departure times for buses. It will also provide prayer times, and advice on how to overcome many of the obstacles that can be encountered during the performance of the duty. In addition, users can use it to communicate directly with the ministry.

He also praised the contribution of the application in highlighting the great efforts being made by the government of King Salman and the crown prince to serve pilgrims.

Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Abdul Fattah Bin Sulaiman Mushat said that the latest version of Manasikana is a leap forward in the technical services provided by the ministry to pilgrims. He said the aim was to embrace modern technologies to serve visitors of all nationalities, in a variety of languages, in accordance with government directives and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program 2020.

Source: http://www.arabnews.com/node/1346671/saudi-arabia