Mecca Clock Tower aka Abraj Al-Bait is known to be the most highlighted Landmark after Masjid Al-Haram in Saudi Arabia. Almost every Saudi Muslim knows about it or maybe visited it too, as it lies adjacent to the Holy Haram. Even when you are en-route to Mecca by road, you can see the clock tower miles away. Today here, we will discuss 6 Lesser Known Facts About Mecca Clock Tower.
6 Lesser Known Facts About Mecca Clock Tower
Third Largest Skyscraper in the World
The first and the major fact about Mecca Clock Tower (Abraj Al-Bait) is that it is the 3rd tallest skyscraper in the world. It is placed few meters away from Masjid Al-Haram which is the largest mosque in the world. This building that is 1972 feet (601 meters) high consists of total 123 floors; out of those 123 floors, 120 are above and three are below the ground. It has total 96 elevators. It gives a beautiful and eye-catching view of Holy Kaaba.
Tallest Clock Tower
It is maybe the world’s third largest building but as a clock tower it is the tallest one out of them all. Its clock can be seen from 17 kilometers away. It can give accommodation up to 2 million devout Muslims worshipers. The tower was structured with serenity in mind, and its capacious rooms are the perfect residents for those families or pilgrims who wants to enjoy the spaciousness of the Holy Kaaba from their rooms.
Cost of the Project
The project costed almost 15 billion dollars. The architectural engineers of the entire project were Dar Al- Handasah Partners. This project also consisted of six more buildings which were built for hotels, shopping malls and residential purposes. It provides free Wi-Fi Services in all of its rooms, nine restaurants and 24-hour concierge services.
What Lies inside the Clock Tower’s Crescent?
Many people don’t know the fact that Mecca Clock Tower (Abraj A-lbait) has a prayer room inside the Crescent. Their lies the highest observation deck in the building at 558 meters above the ground level. The structure also consists of lunar observation area, prayer area and the Islamic Museum.
Largest Floor Area
The Clock Tower of Mecca has also the largest floor area which is around 1500000 m2. There is no other building on earth which possesses this much floor area.
Anatomy of Tower
Makkah Clock Tower is decorated with twenty-four karat gold leaves with ninety-eight million mosaic tiles. The peak of the structure i.e. crescent is decorated with twenty-six searchlights which can throw their lights up to the 10 km into the sky.
Clock Dial
The Big Clock that is embedded into the building is 23 meters long, 43 meters high and weighs around 21 tons. The clock is used as a prayer call to the people who worship in Makkah. It is 36 times larger than the big Ben. There are total 4 huge clocks which are mounted at the top of the skyscraper facing towards all the four sides . There are around 2 million LED lights mounted into the clock which illuminate it at night.
Source : Arab News Now
