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Coordinates: 21°25′08″N 39°49′35″E

Abraj Al Bait
The Abraj Al-Bait (Arabic: ‫أﺑﺮاج اﻟﺒﯿﺖ‬, romanized: ʾAbrāǧ
al-Bayt "Towers of the House") is a government-owned Abraj-Al-Bait
complex of seven skyscraper hotels in Mecca, Saudi ‫أﺑﺮاج اﻟﺒﻴﺖ‬
Arabia. These towers are a part of the King Abdulaziz
Endowment Project that aims to modernize the city in
catering to its pilgrims. The central hotel tower, the
Makkah Royal Clock Tower, has the world's largest clock
face and is the third-tallest building and fifth-tallest
freestanding structure in the world. The clock tower
contains the Clock Tower Museum that occupies the top
four floors of the tower.[5]

The building complex is metres away from the world's

largest mosque and Islam's most sacred site, the Great Abraj Al Bait overlooking the Great Mosque
Mosque of Mecca. The developer and contractor of the of Mecca
complex is the Saudi Binladin Group, the Kingdom's
largest construction company.[3] It is the world's most
expensive building with the total cost of construction
totalling US$15 billion.[6] The complex was built after the
demolition of the Ajyad Fortress, the 18th-century
Ottoman citadel on top of a hill overlooking the Grand
Mosque.[7] The destruction of the historically significant
site in 2002 by the Saudi government sparked
international outcry and a strong response from
Turkey.[8]
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

General information
Contents Status Complete
Type Mixed use:
Description
Clock Hotel, Residential

List of component towers Architectural style Postmodern

New Classical
Features
Spire Location Mecca, Saudi
Arabia
Incidents
Construction fires Coordinates 21°25′08″N
Controversy 39°49′35″E
Construction started 2004
See also
Completed 2012
References
Opening 2012
External links
Cost US$15 billion[1]
Height
Description Architectural 601 m (1,972 ft)[2]
Tip 601 m (1,972 ft)[2]

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The tallest tower in the complex is the tallest building in Antenna spire 601 metres (1,972
Saudi Arabia, with a height of 601 metres (1,972 feet). feet)
Currently it is the fifth-tallest freestanding structure in the
Roof 530 m (1,740 ft)
world, surpassing the Ping An Finance Centre in
Shenzhen, China but shorter than the Burj Khalifa in Top floor 494 m (1,621 ft)[3]
Dubai, UAE, the Tokyo Skytree in Tokyo, Japan, the Observatory 484.4 m (1,589 ft)[3]
Shanghai Tower in Shanghai, China, and the Canton
Technical details
Tower in Guangzhou, China.
Material main structural
The site of the complex is located across the piazza to the system: reinforced
south from the main entrance (King Abdul-Aziz Gate) to concrete (lower
the Masjid al Haram mosque, which houses the Kaaba. To part), steel/concrete
accommodate worshippers visiting the Kaaba, the Abraj
composite
Al-Bait Towers has two large prayer rooms (one for men,
one for women) capable of holding more than 10,000 construction, steel
people. The tallest tower in the complex also contains a construction (upper
five-star hotel, operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, part);
to help provide lodging for the millions of pilgrims that cladding: glass,
travel to Mecca annually to participate in the Hajj. marble, natural
stone,
carbon-/glass-fibre-
reinforced plastic
Floor count 120[4] (Clock Tower)
Floor area Tower: 310,638 m2
Abraj Al-Bait compared with other (3,343,680 sq ft)
tallest buildings in Asia. Development:
1,575,815 m2
(16,961,930 sq ft)[3]
In addition, the Abraj Al-Bait Towers has a five-story
shopping mall (the Abraj Al Bait Mall) and a parking Lifts/elevators 96 (Clock Tower)
garage capable of holding over a thousand vehicles. Design and construction

The building was planned to be 734 m (2,408 ft) tall in Architect SL Rasch GmbH
2006. In 2009, it was published that the final height and Dar Al-
would be 601 m (1,972 ft). The complex was built by the Handasah
Saudi Binladin Group, Saudi Arabia's largest construction Architects
company. The tallest building in the complex (from a
Structural engineer SL Rasch GmbH
height of 450 m (1,480 ft) up until the tip) was designed
and Dar Al-
by the German architect Mahmoud Bodo Rasch and his
firm SL Rasch GmbH.[9] The façade was constructed by Handasah
Premiere Composite Technologies, the clock by German Main contractor Saudi Binladin
tower clock manufacturer PERROT GmbH & Co. KG Group
Turmuhren und Läuteanlagen.[10] According to the Saudi
Ministry of Religious Endowments, the project cost US$15 billion.[11]

Clock

The project uses clock faces for each side of the main hotel tower. The highest residential floor stands
at 370 m (1,210 ft), just below the media displays under the clock faces. At 43 m × 43 m (141 ft
× 141 ft), these are the largest in the world. The roof of the clocks is 450 m (1,480 ft) above the
ground, making them the world's most elevated architectural clocks. A 151-metre-tall (495 ft) spire
has been added on top of the clock giving it a total height of 601 m (1,972 ft). Behind the clock faces

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there is an astronomy exhibition. In the spire base and the glass-covered floors (The Jewel) there is a
scientific center which is used to sight the moon in the beginnings of the Islamic months, and to
operate an atomic clock which controls the tower clocks.[12]

List of component towers

Tower Height Floors Completion Tenants

Makkah Royal Clock 601 m Fairmont Makkah Clock Royal Tower

120[14] 2012[3]
Tower (1,972 ft)[13] Hotel

Mövenpick Hotel & Residences Hajar

Hajar 279 m (915 ft) 58 2012
Tower Makkah
Rifles tower, Pullman ZamZam Makkah,
ZamZam 279 m (915 ft) 58 2012
Elaf kinda
Al Safwah, Royal Dar Al eiman, Al safwah
Safa 220 m (720 ft) 46 2007
hotel

Marwah 220 m (720 ft) 46 2008[15] Al Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana - Makkah

Al Maqam 232 m (761 ft) 61[16] 2012 Swissôtel al Maqam Makkah

Qibla 232 m (761 ft) 61[17] 2012 Swissôtel Makkah

Features
The building is topped by a four-faced clock, visible from 25
kilometres (16 miles) away. The clock is the highest in the world
at over 400 m (1,300 ft) above the ground. The clock faces are the
largest in the world, surpassing the Cevahir Mall clock in
Istanbul.

Each of the clock's four faces measures 43 m (141 ft) in diameter

and are illuminated by 2 million LED lights, with four oriented
edges, just above the clock alongside huge Arabic script reading:
"God is [the] greatest" on the north and south faces and on the
west and east "There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the
messenger of God.". Four golden domes on pillars on all the
corners are also present. Another 21,000 white and green Comparison of some notable four-
coloured lights, the same as the Saudi Flag, fitted at the top of the face clocks at the same scale.
clock, flash to signal Islam's five-time daily prayers, and are Top-left: Metropolitan Life
visible as far as 30 km (19 mi) away. On special occasions such as Insurance Company
new year, 16 bands of vertical lights shoot 10 km (6.2 mi) up into Tower
the sky. The clock's four faces are covered with 98 million pieces Bottom-left: Allen-Bradley Clock
of glass mosaics. The Saudi coat of arms is displayed at the centre Tower (previous
of each clock behind the dials. The minute hand is 23 m (75 ft) record holder)
long, while the hour hand is 17 m (56 ft) long. Middle: Abraj Al Bait
Top-right: Palace of Westminster
A private viewing deck is located 558 m (1,831 ft) above the clock tower
ground, right under the crescent. There is also a public viewing Bottom-right: Kremlin Clock
deck at the base of the clocks at 393 metres' height.

There were reports that the clock would be set to local Mecca Time, in an attempt to replace the IERS
Reference Meridian as the prime meridian for global time keeping, but the clock is set to Arabia
Standard Time (UTC+03:00).[18][19]

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Spire

The clocks are topped by a 128-metre (420 ft) spire with a 23-
metre-high (75 ft) golden crescent at the top. The spire has an
eight-story glass-covered base (The Jewel) which belongs to a
scientific center having its own small exhibition, another
observation deck at 475 m (1,558 ft) and a prayer floor in 480 m
(1,570 ft). The highest floor in The Jewel is the Control Tower
Floor, which was planned to be used for controlling air traffic in
the sky above Mecca (mainly helicopters as airplanes are not
allowed near Mecca). However, this was skipped for technical
reasons and the future usage is not clear yet. Above from The
Jewel the spire has only technical installations for sound, light
and other infrastructure and eventually the last viewing deck and
the crescent above it. The crescent has two regular floors with
living areas and a few service floors and rooms.

The crescent was constructed in Dubai by Premier Composite

A view of Clock Tower from Kaaba
Technologies in April 2011. The crescent is made of fibreglass-
backed mosaic gold, and it weighs up to 35 tonnes. Peugeot
Joseph, the company official, said a team of five engineers and a
hundred workers carried out the project, which cost 90 million United Arab Emirates dirhams and
took three months to build.

The company has also constructed the Mecca Clock. The crescent was divided into 10 parts to move it
to Mecca.[20] The crescent was partly assembled on the base of the clock face to reduce it to 5 parts.
Those five parts were then lifted and installed above the spire from 20 June to 6 July 2011.

The minaret and its base have loudspeakers which broadcast prayer calls to a distance of 7 km while
nearly 21,000 lamps illuminate the surrounding area to a distance of 30 km (19 mi). During occasions
like Muslim Eids and new Hijri years, a 16-beam light illuminates an area of a diameter of around
10 km (6 mi) while 21,000 lamps beam white and green lights to a distance of 30 km (19 mi). The
light beams are intended to allow the deaf, and Muslims in more distant parts of Mecca and nearby
cities, to know prayer timings.[21]

Incidents

Construction fires

The Abraj-Al-Bait complex had two fire incidents during construction. The first fire accident was at
Hajar Tower on 28 October 2008. It took 400 firefighters to put out the fire, which burned for 10
hours, consuming nine floors of the tower.[22] According to eyewitness reports, the blaze erupted
shortly after midnight, and spread rapidly because of wood used for construction stored in the
premises. Soon, the entire building was engulfed in smoke. Hospitals were put on high alert, but no
injuries were reported. A civil defence spokesman said the fire started on the 32nd floor of the Hajar
Tower.[23]

The second fire struck the Safa Tower on 1 May 2009. No deaths or injuries were reported in the
blaze which was quickly contained by Civil Defence. Eyewitnesses said the fire broke out soon after
Asr prayer while some workers in the building were welding iron rods on wooden scaffoldings. The
fire damaged a large part of the under-construction tower. According to Major General Adel
Zamzami, director general of Civil Defence in the Mecca province, the fire broke out at the 14th floor
and reached up to the 20th floor.[22]
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Controversy

The construction engendered some controversy as the location chosen for the towers was the historic
18th-century Ottoman Ajyad Fortress, which was demolished to make way for them.[24] The
development has been criticised by The Guardian for having "transformed a type of architecture that
evolved from a dense urban grain of low-rise courtyards and narrow streets into ... an endlessly
repeatable pattern for the decoration of standardised [concrete] slab(s)".[25]

See also
List of buildings with 100 floors or more
List of tallest buildings in Saudi Arabia
List of tallest buildings
List of largest buildings
List of tallest hotels
List of largest clock faces

References
1. - Abraj Al Bait (http://travel.cnn.com/modern-architectural-wonders-middle-east-750096/)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20160711181631/http://travel.cnn.com/modern-architectura
l-wonders-middle-east-750096/) 11 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine Abraj Al Bait Towers,
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
2. "Makkah Royal Clock Tower - The Skyscraper Center" (http://skyscrapercenter.com/building/makk
ah-royal-clock-tower/84). skyscrapercenter.com.
3. "Makkah Clock Royal Tower, A Fairmont Hotel - The Skyscraper Center" (https://web.archive.org/
web/20140328212835/http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/mecca/makkah-royal-clock-tower-hotel).
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Archived from the original (http://skyscrapercenter.co
m/mecca/makkah-royal-clock-tower-hotel/) on 28 March 2014.
4. "Makkah Royal Clock Tower - The Skyscraper Center" (http://skyscrapercenter.com/building/makk
ah-royal-clock-tower/84).
5. "Clock tower museum in Makkah thrown open to visitors" (http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/5660
92/SAUDI-ARABIA/Clock-tower-museum-in-Makkah-thrown-open-to-visitors). Saudigazette. 11
May 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
6. "Revealed: The world's 20 most expensive buildings" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/the-
worlds-most-expensive-buildings/). Daily Telegraph. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
7. "Historic Fortress Destroyed" (https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/09/world/world-briefing-middle-e
ast-saudi-arabia-historic-fortress-destroyed.html). The New York Times. 9 January 2002.
Retrieved 6 September 2012.
8. "Historic Makkah fortress demolished" (http://www.arabnews.com/node/217526). Arab News. 9
January 2002. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
9. "Serving the Lord, through the lens" (http://www.arabnews.com/islam-perspective/serving-lord-thr
ough-lens). Retrieved 5 June 2013.
10. "Made in Germany geht immer weitere Wege" (http://www.wallstreetjournal.de/article/SB1000142
4127887323981504578176520689753006.html). Retrieved 5 June 2013.
11. Abdullah Al-Shiri: "9 modern architectural wonders of the Mideast" (http://travel.cnn.com/modern-
architectural-wonders-middle-east-750096) CNN, 22 January 2013
12. Syed Faisal Ali: "Makkah Time a new alternative for GMT" (http://www.arabnews.com/node/35240
3) Arab News, 10 August 2010
13. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2787/4414834139_391b4508b4_o.jpg
14. "Best Luxury Hotel Makkah - Fairmont Makkah Clock Royal Tower" (http://www.fairmont.com/mak
kah/).
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15. "Abraj Al Bait Marwah Tower - The Skyscraper Center" (http://skyscrapercenter.com/building/abra

j-al-bait-marwah-tower/5278).
16. "Abraj Al Bait Maqam Tower - The Skyscraper Center" (http://skyscrapercenter.com/building/abraj
-al-bait-maqam-tower/5276).
17. "Abraj Al Bait Qibla Tower - The Skyscraper Center" (http://skyscrapercenter.com/building/abraj-al
-bait-qibla-tower/5277).
18. "Giant Mecca clock seeks to call time on Greenwich" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne
ws/middleeast/saudiarabia/7937123/Giant-Mecca-clock-seeks-to-call-time-on-Greenwich.html)
The Daily Telegraph, 10 August 2010
19. "Saudis Want 'Mecca Time' to Replace GMT" (http://www.aolnews.com/2010/08/11/saudis-want-
mecca-time-to-replace-gmt/) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120925054909/http://www.
aolnews.com/2010/08/11/saudis-want-mecca-time-to-replace-gmt/) 25 September 2012 at the
Wayback Machine AOL News, 10 August 2010
20. 25) ‫ اﻹﺳم‬August 2011). "‫ اﻟﺑﯾﺎن‬- ‫( "ﺗﺻﻧﯾﻊ ھﻼل ﺑرج ﺳﺎﻋﺔ ﻣﻛﺔ ﻓﻲ دﺑﻲ‬https://www.albayan.ae/economy/first/2
011-04-27-1.1428045). Albayan.ae. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
21. "World's largest gold minaret set up in Saudi" (http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/world-s-l
argest-gold-minaret-set-up-in-saudi-2011-07-06-1.406228). Emirates 24/7. Retrieved 30 August
2011.
22. Ibtisam Sheqdar: "Fire damages Makkah tower" (http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=
0&article=122093&d=1&m=5&y=2009) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20120616055810/h
ttp://archive.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=122093&d=1&m=5&y=2009) 16 June
2012 at the Wayback Machine Arab News, 1 May 2009
23. Mariam Al Hakeem: "Makkah hotel fire under investigation" (http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-
arabia/makkah-hotel-fire-under-investigation-1.138098) Gulf News, 21 October 2008
24. ‘Shame of the House of Saud: Shadows over Mecca’ (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/
middle-east/shame-of-the-house-of-saud-shadows-over-mecca-474736.html), The Independent,
19 April 2006
25. Mecca's mega architecture casts shadow over hajj. The Guardian. 23 October 2012. Accessed 3
April 2017 from https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/oct/23/mecca-architecture-hajj1

External links
"Abraj Al-Bait Endowment Complex" (http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/complex/169). CTBUH
Skyscraper Center.
Makkah Clock Royal Tower (https://www.emporis.com/buildings/221047) at Emporis
Reshaping Mecca (https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/12/29/arts/design/mecca-ss.html)—
slide show, The New York Times
"Makkah Clock Royal Tower Hotel" (https://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=34622).
SkyscraperPage.

Records
Preceded by
Tallest building in Saudi Arabia
Capital Market Authority Current holder
2012–present
Headquarters

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