Back Abraj Al-Bait-toring Afrikaans أبراج الساعة Arabic ابراج البيت ARZ Abraj Al Bait AST Əbrəc Əlbeyt Qüllələri Azerbaijani Абрадж аль-Бейт Bashkir Абрадж ал-Бейт Bulgarian আবরাজুল বাইত Bengali/Bangla Abraj Al-Bait Catalan Abrádž Al-Bajt Czech
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2023) |
| The Clock Towers | |
|---|---|
أبراج الساعة | |
 | |
 | |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in Saudi Arabia since 2012[I] | |
| Preceded by | Kingdom Centre |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Mixed use: Hotel, Residential |
| Architectural style | Postmodern New Classical |
| Location | Mecca, Saudi Arabia |
| Coordinates | 21°25′08″N 39°49′35″E / 21.41889°N 39.82639°E |
| Construction started | 2002 |
| Completed | 2011 |
| Opening | 2012 |
| Cost | US$15 billion[2] |
| Height | |
| Architectural | 601 m (1,972 ft)[3] |
| Tip | 601 m (1,972 ft)[3] |
| Antenna spire | 71 metres (233 feet) |
| Roof | 530 m (1,740 ft) |
| Top floor | 494 m (1,621 ft)[4] |
| Observatory | 484.4 m (1,589 ft)[4] |
| Technical details | |
| Material | main structural system: reinforced concrete (lower part), steel/concrete composite construction, steel construction (upper part); cladding: glass, marble, natural stone, carbon-/glass-fibre-reinforced plastic |
| Floor count | 120[1] (Clock Tower) |
| Floor area | Tower: 310,638 m2 (3,343,680 sq ft) Development: 1,575,815 m2 (16,961,930 sq ft)[4] (389.4 acres) |
| Lifts/elevators | 96 (Clock Tower with mall included) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | SL Rasch GmbH and Dar Al-Handasah Architects |
| Structural engineer | SL Rasch GmbH and Dar Al-Handasah |
| Main contractor | Saudi Binladin Group |
| Website | |
| https://theclocktowers.com/ | |
The Clock Towers (Arabic: أبراج الساعة, romanized: Abrāj al-Sāʿad, lit. 'Towers of the Clock', formerly known as Abraj Al Bait), is a government-owned complex of seven skyscraper hotels in Mecca, Saudi 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, which is the Makkah Clock Royal Tower, is the fourth-tallest building and sixth-tallest freestanding structure in the world.[5] The clock tower contains the Clock Tower Museum that occupies the top four floors of the tower.[6]
The building complex is 300 metres away from the world's largest mosque and Islam's most sacred site, the Great Mosque of Mecca.[7] The developer and contractor of the complex is the Saudi Binladin Group, the Kingdom's largest construction company.[4] It is the world's second most expensive building, with the total cost of construction totaling US$15 billion. 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.[8] The destruction of the historically significant site in 2002 by the Saudi government sparked an outcry and a strong reaction from Turkey.[9][7]
- ^ "Makkah Royal Clock Tower - The Skyscraper Center".
- ^ - The Clock Towers Archived 11 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine Abraj Al Bait Towers, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
- ^ a b "Makkah Royal Clock Tower - The Skyscraper Center". skyscrapercenter.com.
- ^ a b c d "Makkah Clock Royal Tower, A Fairmont Hotel - The Skyscraper Center". Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014.
- ^ "Tallest Freestanding Structures". Skyscraper Source Media. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "Clock tower museum in Makkah thrown open to visitors". Saudigazette. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- ^ a b Bsheer, Rosie (20 December 2020). "How Saudi Arabia obliterated its rich cultural history". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Historic Fortress Destroyed". The New York Times. 9 January 2002. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- ^ "Historic Makkah fortress demolished". Arab News. 9 January 2002. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
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