A new layout design for the jamarat area : (stoning the devil)‎

الملخص EN

One of the rituals performed by Muslim pilgrims during Hajj near the Holy city of Makkah is throwing stones at a pillar target.

This activity is a symbol of stoning the devil (Throwing Jamarat) as done by the prophet Abraham.

The number of pilgrims reaches two millions but these arrive at the site at different times during a particular day.

However, the area becomes congested around the structure of the target, which makes falling a major safety hazard.

This factor beside others entails redesign of the Jamarat area.

This paper presents a new design to solve the safety problems.

It is suggested to install uni-directional lanes (one meter wide) and to restrict throwing to within a circular zone up to 15 meters in radius.

An experiment was conducted to estimate the throwing time at each lane and used in a simulation model to estimate the waiting time.

The results of the simulation encourage adopting the new design.