January 13, 2006

Jamarah Plans

I'm thankful that last years Hajj was incident-free. Though pushing through the floods on the last day was exhausting, we did not encounter any major difficulties. I have a lot of family and friends attending Hajj this year, and pray that everyone is safe after the deadly stampedes yesterday. May Allah grant Paradise to all those who lost their lives during this journey.

Several months ago, I received some pictures of the proposed redesign to the Jamarah area. These plans have been approved, and insha-Allah should be in place for next years Hajj. I have also heard people suggesting a monorail system to connect all the major sites of Hajj. If it can be designed well, this should help alleviate the insane traffic around Muzdalifah, Arafah, and the surrounding areas.

Top View of the redesigned Jamarah area.


Another top view.



A model of the current setup.


In the end though, somehow I feel that there will always be some tragedies associated with Hajj. Just one hundred years ago, getting to Makkah and Madinah from anywhere outside the Arabian peninsula must have taken weeks or months; now, you can be there from anywhere in the world in less than two days. But the Hajj is not meant to be a holiday; it is all about sacrifice and undergoing hardships for the sake of Allah. Somehow, there will always be some difficulties.

3 comments:

  1. Thank you for the excellent content.
    I have added your link in my blogsphere.

    ReplyDelete
  2. the designs look great, all of those floors should be able to handle the crouds inshallah.

    From what I read construction has begun and it will take two years.. maybe they will do it in phases and the first part ready for next year. They have also begun clearing out the older buildings surrounding the kabah which should pervent buildings from collapsing inshallah

    ReplyDelete
  3. Salaams,
    Don't forget to vote tomorrow. ;-)

    ReplyDelete