1593 officials are engaged in directing and easing the passage of worshippers into and out of the Grand Mosque in Makkah at peak times. The staff of the Pedestrian Monitoring Administration working in the courtyards of the Mosque, the largest prayer space in the world, are tasked with making entry and exit easy for worshippers during the peak times of 5 P.M. and 10 P.M by making themselves available to give directions as well as erecting signposts giving clear indications of the paths to follow in order for them to navigate through the vast numbers toward an exit from the Mosque. “Crowding is inevitable, but there are factors that sometimes exacerbate the problem, such as pilgrims' preference for entering the Mosque through Bab Al-Salam, and a certain lack of awareness of the sort of behavior that might make everyone's passage through the space much easier,” said one official from the administration.
