Duncan MacDonald
Jakarta 17 June 2013
Makkah has some interesting architecture. The Abraj Al-Bait Towers , also known as the Makkah Royal Hotel Clock Tower, is a building complex in Makkah. These towers are a part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project that strives to modernize the holy city in catering to pilgrims.
The complex holds several world records; (1) the tallest clock tower in the world: 601 m (1,972 ft); (2) the world's largest clock face; and (3) the building with the world's largest floor area. The complex's hotel tower became the second tallest building in the world in 2012, surpassing Taiwan's Taipei 101 and surpassed only by Dubai's Burj Khalifa. The building complex is metres away from the world's largest mosque and Islam's most sacred site, the Masjid al Haram. The developer and contractor of the complex is the Saudi Binladin Group, the Kingdom's largest construction company. [now where have I heard that name before ?]
Click on enlarge under the photo to see a larger image.
