SAUDI ARABIA EXPANDS ZAMZAM WATER AVAILABILITY

Tue 12 May 2020:

The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques announced that Zamzam water will be distributed through commercial outlets across Saudi Arabia to meet high demand amid limited access due to the coronavirus lockdowns.

Standardized five liter bottles of Zamzam water will be available in Othaim Markets and LuLu Group retail outlets, after the National Water Company (NWC), the main operator of the King Abdullah Zamzam Water Project in Mecca, concluded distribution agreements with both companies.

The gradual rollout of Zamzam water bottles in retail outlets will start by the end of this week. And the companies are required to implement strict precautionary health measures.

The CEO of NWC said an electronic platform will be announced next week, through which people can place orders for Zamzam water online.

The King Abdullah Zamzam Water Project had previously shut down all outlets authorized to sell Zamzam water until further notice, as part of the government’s efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

According to Islamic history, Zamzam is a miraculously generated source of water from God, which sprang thousands of years ago when Ibrahim’s infant son Ismail was left with his mother Hajar in the desert. After desperately looking for water to quench their thirst, God miraculously made water spring out of the ground, and it remains until today.

The Zamzam well in Mecca is 21 meters away from the Holy Kaaba and the well’s hole is beneath the Mataf (the circumambulation area around the Holy Kaaba) near the Black Stone.

The water flows from two sides: The side of the Kaaba and the side of Abu Kubais Mountain and Al-Safa. Between 11 and 18 liters are pumped every second and the water settles at a depth of 31 meters.

Zamzam water is offered in the two Holy Mosques via tens of thousands of cooled and sterilized containers.