Big Mecca

Big Ben meet Big Mecca

Everyone is familiar with London's famous Big Ben clock tower. Now the international clock scene - as it were - has a new companion: Mecca. A new major clock tower was unveiled in Islam's holiest site of Mecca at the start of Ramadan (this past Wednesday). Mecca is Islam most holiest site due to the fact that it is where the prophet Mohammad first received the message of God from the angel Gabriel and it is where the first Muslims were converted. Mecca is also home to the Ka'aba (black square building) which houses a black rock (a meteorite) Muslims believe is holy. And Muslims - those who pray - face in the direction of Mecca in their prayers.

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And it is a pillar of Islam (if one is able - in health and finance - to do) to make a pilgrimage or hajj or Mecca once in one's life and to pray in front of the Ka'aba. The hajj marks the end of Ramadan (which is based on the Islamic lunar calendar).

Anyhow, this new clock tower sits atop a skyscraper which overlooks the Grand Mosque. The clock has four faces which measure 43meters in diameter and include 90million pieces (!!!) and it is the largest clock tower in the world. And at 662meters, the skyscraper is the second tallest inhabited building in the world. The tower is part of a seven-building complex known as the King Abdulaziz Endowment, and will be the largest hotel in the world upon completion. Such a massive complex is needed to accommodate the increasing number of Muslim pilgrims to Mecca. The cost: roughly $800million.

The Saudis hope that the clock tower will make Mecca an alternative to Greenwich median time.

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Source: Al Jazeera.