Mina (Arabic: مِنَى, romanized: Minā), nicknamed the "City of the Tents," is a valley located 8 kilometres (5 miles) southeast of the city of Mecca, in the district of Masha'er, Province of Makkah in the Hejazi region Saudi Arabia. Covering an area of approximately 20 km (7.7 sq mi), Mina incorporates the tents, the area of Jamarat, and the slaughterhouses just outside the tents.
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. The three Jamarat, located in the Mina valley, are the location of the Jamarat, performed between sunrise and sunset in the final days of the Hajj. The stone throwing ritual commemorates the Islamic prophet Ibrahim (Abraham)'s stoning of the Devil, who wanted to prevent him from carrying out the command of Allah to sacrifice his son, Isma'il (Ishmael).
