In Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the Abraj
Al-Bait is a government-owned complex of seven skyscraper hotels. The King
Abdulaziz Endowment Project, which intends to improve the city in order to
better serve pilgrims, includes these towers. The Makkah Clock Royal Tower, the
hotel's centerpiece, contains the world's largest clock face and is the world's
third-tallest building and fifth-tallest freestanding structure. The Clock
Tower Museum, located on the top four levels of the clock tower, is open to the
public.
The Great Mosque of Mecca, the
world's biggest mosque and Islam's holiest shrine, is just metres from from the
construction site. The Saudi Binladin Group, the Kingdom's largest construction
enterprise, is the complex's developer and contractor. With a total
construction cost of US$15 billion, it is the world's second most expensive
building. The complex was erected when the 18th-century Ottoman fortification
on top of a hill overlooking the Grand Mosque, the Ajyad Fortress, was
demolished. The Saudi government's demolition of the historically valuable
landmark in 2002 sparked international outrage and a strong response from
Turkey.
With a height of 601 meters, the
complex's tallest tower is the tallest building in Saudi Arabia (1,972 feet).
The Kaaba is housed in the Masjid al Haram mosque, which is located across the
piazza to the south of the main entrance (King Abdul-Aziz Gate). The Abraj
Al-Bait Towers have two huge prayer rooms that can house more than 10,000
people to accommodate visitors visiting the Kaaba. The complex's highest tower
also houses a five-star hotel run by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts to help
accommodate the millions of pilgrims who go to Mecca each year to perform the
Hajj. The Abraj Al-Bait Towers also include a five-story shopping complex and a
parking garage.
Each side of the main hotel tower is
adorned with clock faces. At 370 meters, the tallest residential floor is
slightly below the media screens behind the clock faces. These are the world's
largest, measuring 43 by 43 meters. The clocks' roofs are 450 meters above
ground level, making them the world's highest architectural clocks. On top of
the clock, a 151-meter-high spire has been built, giving it a total height of
601 meters. An astronomy installation is located behind the clock faces. There
is a scientific center in the spire base and the glass-covered floors that is
used to sight the moon at the start of the Islamic months and to operate an
atomic clock that regulates the tower clocks.
A four-faced clock atop the structure
may be seen from 25 kilometers away. At nearly 400 meters above sea level, the
clock is the world's highest. The clock faces are the world's largest,
surpassing Istanbul's Cevahir Mall clock.
Each of the clock's four faces is 43
meters in diameter and is illuminated by 2 million LED lights with four
oriented edges, which are located just above the clock alongside huge Arabic
script reading: ""God is [the] greatest" on the north and south
faces, and "There is no god but Allah" on the west and east faces.
God has sent Muhammad as his messenger ".. There are also four golden
domes on pillars on each of the four corners. Another 21,000 white and green
colored lights, the same as the Saudi flag, flash to signify Islam's five-time daily
prayers, and may be seen from up to 30 kilometers away. 16 bands of vertical
lights shoot 10 kilometers into the sky on special occasions. The four faces of
the clock are covered with 98 million glass mosaics. Behind the dials, the
Saudi coat of arms is placed in the center of each clock. The minute hand
measures 23 meters in length, while the hour hand measures 17 meters.
At 558 meters, immediately under the
crescent, there is a private viewing deck. At 393 meters, there is also a
public viewing platform at the base of the clocks. According to reports, the
clock would be set to local Mecca Time in a bid to supplant the IERS Reference
Meridian as the primary meridian for global timekeeping, but the clock is set
to Arabian Time.
A 128-meter spire with a 23-meter-high golden crescent
at the top crowns the clocks. The spire is supported by an eight-story
glass-covered base that houses a research center with its own small exhibition,
a 475-meter observation deck, and a 480-meter prayer floor. The Control Tower
Floor is The Jewel's highest floor, and it was designed to control aviation
traffic in the skies over Mecca. However, for technical reasons, this was
skipped, and the future use is unknown. The spire above The Jewel only has
technical installations for sound, light, and other infrastructure, as well as
the final viewing deck and the crescent above it.
Sources :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraj_Al_Bait
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