Saudi Arabia prepares `city of tents’ for Haj

Saudi Arabia has started preparing Mina, known as the ‘city of tents’ for Haj.

This year, the Haj is expected to start on June 26 and will take place without COVID-19 restrictions, allowing a large number of pilgrims to participate.

Mustafa Hadi, chief supervisor of one of the companies in Mina told Al-Arabiya that preliminary work is being done for Mina tents, including maintenance of electricity and plumbing, painting and gypsum works, construction of toilets in the camp, and decoration works.

In the next few days, tents will be prepared with restaurants, beds, blankets, and other necessary arrangements to receive the pilgrims.

Mina is located within the boundaries of the holy sites between Makkah and Muzdalifah, 7 kilometers from the Grand Mosque.

The Mina Valley is a vast open area with more than 100,000 air-conditioned tents that can hold more than 2.6 million people and covers an area of more than 2.5 million square meters.

Mina is known for hosting pilgrims every year. Pilgrims stay in Mina for two nights during the month of Dhul-Hijjah while performing the rituals of Haj.

Mina is known as the largest tent city in the world. Pilgrims must remain in Mina during the Haj and perform the stoning of the devil at the Jamarat. The ritual is performed between sunrise and sunset on the last days of the pilgrimage.

In the 1900s, pilgrimages in Mina used to frequently experience tent fires. Despite all-out efforts to prevent it, several pilgrims have lost their possessions, and hundreds of people have been injured or killed in fires over the years.