Planning to go out is always frustrating for Saudi Arabians because businesses close for prayer five times a day.
Ahmed Alawaji, 26, designed an app to curb his own personal frustrations with frequently arriving at a store moments before it closes for prayer. The app, Ymdi, uses location technology to calculate the distance and travel time between the user and destination. The app also has a countdown clock that shows when certain busineses plan to close.
In Muslim tradition, everyone must stop what they are doing and offer a five to 15 minute prayer to Allah.
Saudi Arabia is the only Muslim country in the world where businesses are mandated to close for prayer, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In the past, it was easy for small businesses to close, do a quick prayer, and reopen, according to Arab News. However, with the growth of large stores, it now takes many businesses much longer to close and reopen.
Ymdi gives users prayer-time notifications, whether you will make it to the destination before it closes, and recommendations on nearby venues, using the same API as Foursquare.
Available for only for iOS, the app appears to be seen as helpful in Saudi Arabia.
"Great app new idea to calculate traffic timing and prayer timing to see if you could make it to the POIs that you're looking for!!" writes A.Aziz Nasser in a review for the app in the iTunes store.