• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.1953-1972
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• 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a profound impact on large-scale gatherings throughout the world. Social distancing has become one of the most common measures to restrict the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Islamic pilgrimage attracts millions of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia annually. One of the mandatory rituals of pilgrimage is the symbolic stoning of the devil. Every pilgrim is required to perform this ritual within a specified time on three days of pilgrimage. This ritual is prone to congestion due to strict spatiotemporal requirements. We propose a pedestrian simulation model for implementing social distancing in the stoning ritual. An agent-based simulation is designed to analyze the impact of inter-queue and intra-queue spacing between adjacent pilgrims on the throughput and congestion during the stoning ritual. After analyzing several combinations of intra-queue and inter-queue spacings, we conclude that 25 queues with 1.5 meters of intra-queue spacing result in an optimal combination of throughput and congestion. The Ministry of Hajj in Saudi Arabia may benefit from these findings to manage and plan pilgrimage more effectively.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.53-82
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• 2022

The Hebrew word for silk, meshi, is mentioned in the Bible only once and there is a possibility that the item to which it referred was made of local wild silk. Although Jewish historical sources from the Roman and Byzantine periods mention silk many times, only a few silk textiles have been discovered at a sited dated to the Byzantine period (4^th-7^th centuries CE). The word "silk" occurs in the New Testament, although only once. A turning point in the history of the Negev (Southern Israel) occurred around 400 CE when it underwent a period of prosperity related to the advent of Christianity and pilgrimage, which enabled the purchase of imported silk textiles. The Early Islamic period (7-8th centuries CE) yielded four (out of 310) silk textiles from Nahal 'Omer on the Spice Routes joining Petra, in the Edom Mountains of modern Jordan, and the mercantile outlets on the Mediterranean Sea, notably Gaza and El Arish. The most important silk textile assemblage in the Southern Levant was found near Jericho at Qarantal Cave 38 and dates to the medieval period (9th-13th centuries CE). Linen textiles decorated with silk tapestry originating in Egypt date back to the 10-11th centuries CE. Mulham textiles - silk warp with hidden cotton wefts - were discovered in the medieval fortress on Jazirat Fara'un (Coral Island) in the Red Sea, 14 kilometers south of Elat and today located in Egypt. Mulham is mentioned in literary sources of the ninth century in Iraq and Iran, whence it spread through the Islamic world. The article will present aspects of the origin, transmission, and exchange of these textiles.