Mecca Gate

About Mecca Gate

Landmark at Jeddah–Makkah Highway

The Makkah Gate, also known as the Quran Gate, is a monumental arch spanning the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Road (the Jeddah–Makkah highway) between Shumaisi and the Masjid al-Haram, about five kilometres west of Makkah. It is designed in the form of an open Quran resting on a wooden book-stand (rahl), whose arms cross at the centre of the structure so that travellers arriving in Makkah and those leaving it see the open book at the same eye level. The gate is the symbolic entrance to Makkah, the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, and marks the boundary of the Haram area, which non-Muslims may not enter; the checkpoints that verify arriving travellers stand beside it. It has become one of the best-known images of modern Makkah and the first landmark to greet pilgrims coming from Jeddah and its airport. A development project is planned around the gate on a site of roughly 83 square kilometres, intended to accommodate more than half a million people when complete.

Where:

Mecca, Saudi Arabia