Bottled Zam-Zam water meets huge demand

A project to pump "Zamzam" holy water in the Saudi city of Makkah has produced more than 55 million water bottles since the project's inception around three years ago Al Arabiya reported.

The company also said it had launched early preparations for this year's hajj season - which began this month - by increasing the producing capacity in order to meet demand.

Pilgrims at the Grand Mosque make sure they drink as much as possible from Makkah's Zamzam Well and buy containers to take home to family and friends.

The company also said that these preparations aim to increase its daily production capacity by 50 percent in order to meet the pilgrims' demands.

More than 1.1 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in Mecca for the annual hajj, which all physically and financially able Muslims are required to perform once in their life.

The Zamzam project provides water for more than 6,000 customers a day, that's five customers every minute.

Infographic: Prohibitions during Ihram

According to Islamic tradition, Prophet Abraham's wife Hajjar ran between the hills seven times in a bid to find water for her baby Ismail. After a frantic search, a spring of water gushed forth, known as Zamzam.

She did this until God ensured that water started gushing out from under his feet, and Hajjar started moving the sand to protect the water, saying "Zamzam, Zamzam, Zamzam, Zamzam,"


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