The so-called city of white tents can accommodate millions of pilgrims for six days (during Dul Hijjah 8-13) as they complete their Haj rituals. (The Teflon-coated tents can withstand temperatures of up to 700 degrees Celsius.) Mina covers an area of 650 hectares consisting of vast plains, valleys and mountains. It is surrounded by high and steep mountains in the north and south and by Wadi Muhasar in the east.
Mina contains a number of important Islamic landmarks including the Jamrat, where pilgrims stone the Satan. The historic Al-Khaif Mosque is only 100 meters away from the Jamrat area, while a number of hospitals and health centers and other amenities are close by.
The Jamrat
The Jamrat Bridge, 950 meters long and 80 meters wide, comprises five levels and cost over SR4.5 billion to build. The bridge was constructed in such a way so in future it can be built as high as 12 levels, accommodating five million Hajis at once. The bridge has three tunnels, 11 entry and 12 exit points, a helicopter airfield and a cooling system that sprinkles water droplets, keeping the temperature at a maximum of 29 degrees Celsius.
The project also has other facilities including grocers, restaurants, barbershops, toilets, medical services and civil defense among others. The bridge is monitored by a large number of CCTV cameras transmitting to the main operations room, enabling security forces to intervene immediately in case of any emergency. The Jamrat area lies in the western part of Mina, occupying about 20 hectares. It consists of the three Jamrat: the first or the Jamrat Al-Aqaba (stoned on Dul Hijjah 10), the small and medium Jamrat. All three Jamrats are stoned within three days.
Mina buildings project
Six new towers were constructed near the Jamrat, covering an area of about 25,000 square meters and accommodating over 20,000 pilgrims. Each tower is 12 stories high. More buildings will be constructed as part of the project to eventually accommodate about a million pilgrims. The Council of Senior Religious Scholars approved the construction of the buildings.
Hospitals
There are three major hospitals in Mina:
• Mina Wadi Hospital was totally reconstructed early this year. It has 194 beds, 25 in the intensive care unit, 25 in the sunstrokes section, 24 in the observation ward and two operation rooms.
• Mina Al-Jisr Hospital has 140 beds, 28 in the intensive care unit, as well as four operation rooms and a number of outpatient clinics.
• Mina New Road Hospital has 50 beds and a two-story high staff building.
Sacrificial meat project
There are eight modern slaughterhouses with a total capacity for 1.5 million livestock. They are in Muaisim, east of Mina valley, built by the government and supervised by the Islamic Development Bank. Before they were implemented, pilgrims used to slaughter their sacrificial animals near the Jamrat area, causing hygienic and environmental hazards. At present, part of the sacrificial meat is sent to the poor in about 27 Muslim countries.
Roads and bridges
There are 25 tunnels in Mina leading to Makkah, as well as 41 bridges and flyovers and roads with a total length of over 70 km. There is a designated road for pedestrians that is 4.5 km long and 30 meters wide in Mina, leading to the Jamrat bridge. It has four tunnels and two flyovers.
