Mina, Saudi Arabia

Mina (Arabic: منى‎, romanized: Minā), also transliterated as Muna, and commonly known as the City of Tents[1][2] is a valley and neighborhood located in the Masha'er district of Mecca in the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia, 8 kilometres (5 miles) southeast of Mecca, covering an area of approximately 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi). Mina incorporates the tents, the Jamarat area, and the slaughterhouses just outside the tent city.[1]

This article is about the neighborhood in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. For other uses, see Mina (disambiguation).
Mina

منى
Neighborhood
Muna
Tents at Mina
Nickname(s): 
City of Tents
Mina
Location in Saudi Arabia
Coordinates:
Country Saudi Arabia
ProvinceMakkah Province
CityMecca
Area
 • Total20 km2 (8 sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+3 (AST)

Mina is most famous for its role in the Hajj pilgrimage. To accommodate the pilgrims who stay in Mina over multiple nights in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, more than 100,000 air-conditioned tents have been built in the area, giving Mina the nickname "City of Tents." With a capacity of up to 3 million people, Mina has been called the largest tent city in the world.[1][3][4] The three Jamarat, located in the Mina valley, are the location of the Stoning of the Devil, performed between sunrise and sunset in the final days of the Hajj. The stone throwing ritual commemorates the prophet Ibrāhīm (Abraham)'s stoning of the devil, who wanted to prevent him from carrying out the command of Allāh to sacrifice his son, Isma'il (Ishmael).[5]

History
A pilgrim participating in the ritual of the Stoning of the Devil

In Islamic tradition, Ibrahim (Abraham) abandoned his wife, Hagar (Hagar) and their son, Ishmael, in the valley of Mecca when Ishmael was an infant. Upon one of his visits to his family in Mecca, he was ordered by Allah in a dream to sacrifice his son in the Mina valley. While carrying out his sacrifice, he was interrupted by a devil and was commanded by Allah to stone the devil. The ritual of the stoning of the Devil is a commemoration of this belief.[5] Mina is also believed to be the location of the pledges of al-Aqabah.

Before the tents were built, pilgrims would bring their own tents to the valley and dismantle them while returning from the Hajj. Sometime in the 1990s, permanent cotton tents were installed by the Saudi government. These cotton tents were especially susceptible to fires, which took many of the pilgrims' lives.

After the 1997 Mina fires which resulted in the deaths of more than 340 pilgrims, more than 100,000 permanent tents, measuring 8 by 8 metres (26 ft × 26 ft), were built.[1][6][7] These are constructed of fiberglass with an outer coating of Teflon to protect them from fires. The tents are grouped into camps, each with their own exterior walls, and divided by the nationalities of pilgrims, providing temporary accommodation to up to 3 million pilgrims.[1][3] Each camp is equipped with a kitchen, bathrooms, and ablution facilities, and is connected to the other camps by pathways. The tents are also marked with unique color-and-number pairs to make them more identifiable.[1]

Incidents during the Hajj
Main article: Incidents during the Hajj

Owing to its location and the extreme numbers of pilgrims during the Hajj, Mina and the surrounding region, especially the Jamarat Bridge, are hotspots for stampedes, the deadliest of which was the 2015 stampede, resulting in the deaths of more than 2,000 pilgrims:

Hajj pilgrims walking through the valley of Mina.
Date Name of the incident Location Deaths Non-fatal injuries Sources
3 July 1990 1990 Mecca tunnel stampede al-Mu'aisim Tunnel, Mecca 1,426 Unknown [6][7]
23 May 1994 1994 Hajj stampede Jamarat Bridge 270+ 200+ [6][7][8][9]
15 April 1997 1997 Mina fires Mina 340+ 1,500+ [6][7]
9 April 1998 1998 Hajj stampede Jamarat Bridge 118+ 180+ [6][7][10]
5 March 2001 2001 Hajj stampede Jamarat Bridge 35+ Unknown [6][7][11]
1 February 2004 2004 Hajj stampede Jamarat Bridge 251+ 244+ [6][7][12][13]
12 January 2006 2006 Hajj stampede Jamarat Bridge 363 1,000+ [6][7][14]
24 September 2015 2015 Mina stampede Street(s) 204/223, Mina 769+ 936+ [6][7][15][16][17]

Geography
An aerial map of Mina prepared by the Umm al-Qura' University in Mecca. The white tents can be seen in this picture, cut by the multiple pathways between them.

Mina is situated in the eponymous Mina valley, at an elevation of approximately 400 m (1320 ft).[18] It is bordered by the al-'Aziziyah district of Mecca in the west, the 4th Ring Road to the north, Muzdalifah to the east, and the al-Jami'ah district to the south. The westernmost features of Mina are the three Jamarat, which are stoned during the Stoning of the Devil. These are, the Jamarat al-Sughra', the westernmost and smallest, the Jamarat al-Wusta', the intermediary, and the Jamarat al-Kubra', also called Jamarat al-'Aqabah, the largest and easternmost. In a 2003 study, the distance between the first two was measured to be 135 m (443 ft) and the distance between the latter two was measured at 225 m (738 ft).[18] To the north-east of Mina are the slaughterhouses, where the sacrificial animals of the Hajj pilgrims are slaughtered.

The Masjid al-Khayf (Arabic: مسجد الخيف‎) is located in the center of the Mina valley and is active only during the Hajj. The Mashaer Al Muqaddassah Metro line, which is only active during the Hajj and is currently Saudi Arabia's only metro line, ends in the western reaches of Mina near the Jamarat al-'Aqaba, with Mina Station 3/Jamarat. The line travels northwest toward Mina, connecting it to Muzdalifah and Arafat, which are also important in the Hajj pilgrimage.

Infrastructure

The Masjid al-Khayf, covering approximately 20,000 square metres (220,000 sq ft), is the largest mosque in Mina.

Transport

Highway 40, one of Saudi Arabia's most important highways, is less than 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from Mina and is accessible through the Al Hajj Street.

The Mashaer Al Muqaddassah metro, currently Saudi Arabia's only complete metro line, is active only during the Hajj, and ends in Mina, near the Jamarat al-'Aqaba, with Mina Station 3. Running northwest, it starts in Arafat, going through Muzdalifah, before reaching Mina Station 1, near the Armed Forces Hospital. The next station, less than a kilometer away, is the Mina Station 2, located near the Mina al-Jisr Hospital. Finally, the line terminates near the Jamarat, at Mina Station 3.

See also

References
  1. Patowary, Kaushik. "Mina, The City of Tents". Amusing Planet. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  2. Tashkandi, Hala; Alameri, Rua'a (2019-08-10). "Mina tent city hosts over 2 million Hajj pilgrims". Arab News. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  3. "WATCH: Flyover of Mina, the world's largest city of tents". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  4. "Mecca's $7,000-per-night makeshift room". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  5. "The Jamarat". Retrieved 2020-10-30.
  6. Staff; agencies (2006-01-13). "A history of hajj tragedies". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  7. Reuters. "A Stampede Near Mecca Killed More Than 700 People Taking Part In the Hajj Pilgrimage". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  8. "New Straits Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  9. "Rediff On The NeT: 23 Indians killed in Haj stampede identified". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  10. "100 Pilgrims Are Killed in Mecca in Stampede". The New York Times. Associated Press. 1998-04-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  11. "Pilgrims killed in Mecca stampede". 2001-03-05. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  12. "Hundreds killed in Hajj stampede". 2004-02-01. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  13. "CNN.com - Hajj stampede: 244 pilgrims dead - Feb. 1, 2004". edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  14. Oliver, Mark; agencies (2006-01-12). "Hundreds killed in hajj stampede". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  15. "As hajj nears, questions about deadly 2015 stampede remain". AP NEWS. 2016-09-09. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  16. "Iran says tests will show cause of diplomat's death in Saudi". AFP. 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  17. Gambrell, Jon; Ahmed, Baba (9 December 2015). "Hajj Stampede in September Killed Over 2,400, New Count Finds". The New York Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  18. Refai, Mohammed (2015-03-18). "Solutions for Stoning the Devil in Pilgrimage using Simulation". International Journal of Computer Applications. 113 (11): 5–8. doi:10.5120/19868-1853. ISSN 0975-8887.
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