Abraj Al Bait

About Abraj Al Bait

Building complex in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

The Clock Towers (Abraj al-Sa'a), the King Abdulaziz Endowment for the Two Holy Mosques and formerly known as Abraj al-Bait, is a complex of seven hotel skyscrapers facing the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, about 300 metres from the Grand Mosque. The tallest, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower, rises 601 metres and is among the tallest buildings in the world; Guinness World Records lists it as the tallest clock tower anywhere, and its clock faces are the largest ever made, visible from across the city. The foundation stone was laid on 28 November 2002, the first tower was completed in January 2007, and the whole complex in early 2012. The complex was built as part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment project to serve pilgrims. Its floor area of 1.5 million square metres is the largest of any commercial and residential complex in the world, construction cost some US$15 billion, and the developer was the Saudi Binladin Group. Inside are five-star hotels, a prayer area for around 10,000 worshippers, a five-storey shopping mall and many restaurants, while the top four floors of the clock tower house the Clock Tower Museum. The complex stands on the site of the eighteenth-century Ottoman Ajyad Fortress, which once crowned a hill overlooking the mosque. Today it has become a modern symbol of Makkah that no visitor can miss.

Where:

Mecca, Saudi Arabia