A rare artifact from the early history of crowd management at Makkah's Grand Mosque has gone on display at the Exhibition of the Two Holy Mosques' Architecture. The piece, a wooden platform mounted on a marble base, was once placed next to the Black Stone, where a soldier would stand to organise the movement of pilgrims performing Tawaf around the Kaaba.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the exhibition continues to enrich the visitor experience by showcasing rare historical items that reflect the development of services at the Grand Mosque over recent decades. The platform offers a tangible glimpse of how pilgrim flow was managed long before the arrival of modern crowd-control systems.
A window into early crowd management
The artifact highlights the practical methods used to guide worshippers through one of the most crowded points of the pilgrimage. Tawaf, the circumambulation of the Kaaba, draws dense crowds around the Black Stone, where many pilgrims seek to touch or point toward the stone as the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, did. Managing that movement has always been among the central challenges at the Grand Mosque.
In earlier decades, a soldier stationed on the raised wooden platform could see over the crowd and direct the flow of pilgrims, helping to keep the area around the Black Stone moving and reducing dangerous congestion. The exhibition explains how the platform facilitated the movement of pilgrims and Umrah performers in highly crowded areas, illustrating crowd-management practices that predate today's electronic systems.
Documenting the history of the Two Holy Mosques
The display forms part of the exhibition's broader mission to document the history of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. Through artifacts, photographs and historical records, the exhibition traces the architectural and service development of the two holiest sites in Islam.
It sits alongside other rare items that tell the story of how the sites have been cared for and expanded over time. The collection reflects the long history of efforts to serve pilgrims, from simple physical tools to the large-scale engineering and technology that define the mosques today. Each item on display carries its own story, capturing a moment in the continuous work of accommodating ever-growing numbers of worshippers at the heart of Islam.
From a wooden platform to digital systems
The contrast between the wooden platform and present-day operations is striking. Crowd management at the Grand Mosque now relies on digital boards that show real-time capacity in prayer areas, designated pedestrian paths, timed-entry permits issued through the Nusuk application, and large teams of trained staff and security personnel.
Where a single soldier once stood on a raised platform to guide Tawaf, authorities today coordinate the movement of millions of pilgrims using data, signage and dedicated transport links. Seen in that light, the modest wooden platform marks the beginning of a long journey toward the sophisticated systems that keep the Grand Mosque safe during peak seasons.
A point of reflection for visitors
For pilgrims and visitors, the exhibition offers more than a museum visit. It provides context for the scale of service that surrounds them during Hajj and Umrah and a reminder of the generations of effort that have gone into caring for the holy sites.
Those visiting Makkah outside the busiest hours may find it worthwhile to spend time at the exhibition, which helps deepen understanding of the place they have travelled to. Learning how crowd management evolved can also help pilgrims appreciate why following signage, staff instructions and timed permits matters so much during their own Tawaf, especially in the area around the Black Stone where the historic platform once stood.