On Tuesday morning, 8 Rajab, 1441 A.H., the Department of Geography at the College of Social Sciences organized a seminar entitled, 'Studying and Analyzing the Urban Structure of Makkah Al-Mukarramah: Mutual Effect of Mountains and Urban Areas in Makkah'. This seminar was held within the activities of the Cultural Committee at the department, in the presence of the Head of the Department of Geography, Dr. Abdullah Al-Qurashi, Vice Dean of Scientific Research, Dr. Omar Al-Hazimi, a member of Makkah Municipal Council, Dr. Nuzhah Al-Jabri, the Head of the Cultural Committee, Dr. Ahmad Al-Shiri`i, and a number of the academic staff members at the Department of Geography. Moreover, His Excellency Dr. Abdul-Rahman Majrashi and Eng. Ali Al-Zahrani from the Department of Islamic Architecture at the College of Engineering, and the Advisor of His Excellency the Secretary of Makkah, Eng. Musa Al-Sahbi, attended the activity, which was held at the meeting hall in the College of Social Sciences.

The seminar started with the Chairman of the Cultural Committee, Dr. Ahmad Al-Shiri`i, welcoming the attendants and the guest of the first scientific seminar, Dr. Tariq Abu Auf from the Department of Islamic Architecture. The guest started his speech about integrating geography and engineering and the joint aspects between the two fields. He also tackled urban development in Makkah and the mutual effect between mountains and urban areas.

The seminar was concluded with a scientific recommendation asserting the importance of activating the role of scientific techniques, such as the global positioning system (GPS) and remote sensing, in specialized academic studies to determine the suitable and advantageous locations for building on mountains. He also talked about making use of the white land available inside the administrative boundaries of Makkah Al-Mukarramah to develop the urban structure of the city.

Finally, the cultural committee at the Department of Geography encouraged fruitful and constructive cooperation between the scientific departments to enrich the field of scientific and research studies. This is because of the importance of their scientific production for humans and the city.