5/5 Y451R B. 10 months ago on Google
The
Zamzam
Well
(Arabic:
بئر
زمزم,
romanized:
Biʾru
Zamzam
Arabic
pronunciation:
[biʔru
zam.zam])
is
a
well
located
within
the
Masjid
al-Haram
in
Mecca,
Saudi
Arabia.
It
is
located
20
m
(66
ft)
east
of
the
Kaʿba,
the
holiest
place
in
Islam.
The
well
miraculously
generated
source
of
water,
which
opened
up
thousands
of
years
ago
when
the
son
of
Ibrahim
(Abraham),
Ismaʿil
(Ishmael),
was
left
with
his
mother
Hajar
(Hagar)
in
the
desert.
It
is
claimed
to
have
dried
up
during
the
settlement
of
the
Jurhum
in
the
area
and
to
have
been
rediscovered
in
the
6th
century
by
ʿAbd
al-Muṭṭalib,
grandfather
of
Muhammad.
Millions
of
pilgrims
visit
Mecca
and
Medina
each
year
while
performing
the
Hajj
or
Umrah
pilgrimages
in
order
to
drink
its
water.
The
well
of
Zamzam
was
excavated
by
hand,
and
is
about
30
m
(100
ft)
deep
and
1.08
to
2.66
m
(3
ft
7
in
to
8
ft
9
in)
in
diameter.
It
taps
groundwater
from
the
wadi
alluvium
and
some
from
the
bedrock.
Historically
water
from
the
well
was
drawn
via
ropes
and
buckets,
but
since
1964
the
well's
opening
itself
is
in
a
basement
room
inaccessible
to
the
public,
where
it
can
be
seen
behind
glass
panels.
Two
electric
pumps,
operating
alternately,
move
the
water
5
km
southwards
at
a
pace
of
between
11
and
18.5
litres
per
second
to
the
King
Abdullah
bin
Abdulaziz
Zamzam
Water
Project
in
Kudai.
The
center
opened
in
September
2010
CE
costing
700
million
Saudi
Riyal
to
construct
and
being
operated
by
the
National
Water
Company
of
Saudi
Arabia.
In
this
location
treatment
using
filters
and
ultraviolet
light,
storage,
and
distribution
take
place.
Once
treated
the
water
is
stored
in
one
of
two
reservoirs,
the
first
at
the
plant's
location
in
Kudai
can
hold
10,000
cubic
meters
of
water,
the
other,
the
King
Abdulaziz
Sabeel
Reservoir
in
Medina,
has
a
larger
capacity
of
16,000
cubic
meters.
The
Kudai
location
is
connected
via
pipes
to
drinking
fountains
in
the
Masjid
al-Haram.
The
Medina
location
supplies
the
Prophet's
Mosque.
Aside
from
the
system
of
pipes
unbottled
water
is
distributed
using
tanker
trucks
which
transport
150,000
litres
per
day
at
normal
times
and
up
to
400,000
litres
per
day
during
pilgrimage
seasons
to
the
Medina
location.
Unbottled
water
is
available
through
the
before-mentioned
drinking
fountains,
a
fountain
meant
for
pilgrims
wishing
to
fill
larger
containers
not
intended
for
immediate
consumption,
and
sterilised
containers
placed
by
authorities
throughout
the
holy
sites
in
Mecca
and
Medina.
These
latter
containers
come
in
several
variants,
chilled
and
unchilled,
as
well
as
being
either
stationary
or
worn
as
a
backpack
by
employees
of
the
complexes
with
disposable
plastic
cups
provided
in
any
case.
Small
filtered
water
bottles
are
also
distributed
free
of
charge
at
the
holy
sites.
The
water
distributed
this
way
in
the
Masjid
al-Haram
totals
ca.
700,000
litres
per
day
outside
of
pilgrimage
season
and
2,000,000
litres
per
day
during
said
season.
Distribution
outside
the
Islamic
holy
sites
within
the
Kingdom
of
Saudi
Arabia
occurs
with
the
water
being
bottled
in
10-litre-containers
which
are
sold
directly
at
a
warehouse
at
the
site
of
the
King
Abdullah
bin
Abdulaziz
Zamzam
Water
Project
or
via
hypermarkets
and
super
stores
throughout
the
state.
In
2018
the
number
of
10-litre-containers
distributed
per
day
was
1.5
million.
In
2010
the
annual
limit
on
how
much
water
can
be
extracted
from
the
well
was
stated
as
c.
500,000
cubic
meters
(500,000,000
litres
per
year),
though
due
to
annual
variations
in
rainfall
patterns
there
exists
a
lot
of
deviation
with
regards
to
how
much
water
can
be
extracted
without
lowering
the
well's
water
level
too
drastically
each
year.
Zamzam
water
is
colourless
and
odorless,
but
has
a
distinctive
taste,
with
a
pH
of
7.9–8,
and
so
is
slightly
alkaline.