RIYADH: The Grand Mosque in Makkah is ready to receive pilgrims, worshipers, and those fasting on Ashoura, the General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques said on Thursday. Ashoura is observed on the tenth of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, and this year the historically significant day will fall on Friday July 28. For Sunni Muslims, it is a sacred day and they believe that fasting on Ashoura is a virtuous act. Dates, Zamzam water, and dry snacks will be distributed before sunset for visitors to the mosque to break their fast with, the presidency’s spokesman Maher bin Mansi Al-Zahrani said. Al-Zahrani added that modern technology and artificial intelligence methods are used to support sterilization and disinfection processes at the mosque. These include the use of 11 smart sterilization robots, 20 devices to sterilize the air and surfaces at the same time, 20 devices that sterilize hard-to-reach areas such as ceilings and pillars, and 600 automatic hand sanitization devices. Several teams also work to sterilize all areas of the mosque, its courtyards, and toilets with more than 70,000 liters of disinfectant. In addition to this, 200 Saudi supervisors monitor the work of 4,000 male and female employees who clean the mosque 10 times a day, prepare 7,000 bottles of Zamzam for distribution, and equip all areas of the mosque with 4,500 Zamzam containers that hold 500,000 litres of the holy water.