MECCA l U/C l Mataf Expansion

[Makkawi.Pk]

[Roukaya19]

Old Porticos before the expansion work

[Roukaya19]

Ottoman Portico Surrounding Kaaba To Be Protected

12/10/2012

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has ordered the preservation of the Ottoman portico within the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca during a project to expand the prayer area in the mosque, a Turkish daily reported on Sunday.

The project will increase the size of the mosque to 500,000 square meters, doubling its current size. However, there have been debates as to whether the historic Ottoman portico within the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca will be demolished as part of the project or not.

According to Star, King Abdullah ordered only the porticos that were built in recent times to be demolished but to keep the historic Ottoman portico.

Following a request from the king that a Turkish company do the expansion work within the mosque, a Turkish company was selected for the task and began inspections to ascertain which of the portico sections in the mosque are authentic and which were re-built. It found that 27 sections of the porticos had been re-built.

The Saudi project again drew the ire of Muslims when some sections of the portico were about to be demolished several days ago. However, the Saudi authorities announced that the demolished sections of the portico were built 10 years ago after their original form was greatly damaged by previous construction work on the hills of Safa and Marwa.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly raised the matter at one of his meetings with the Saudi king several months ago and requested that the portico, the only remnant of Ottoman heritage in Mecca, be left intact.

Almost 300 historical buildings around the Kaaba have been demolished as part of initiatives to enlarge the area around the Grand Mosque in the last 80 years.

Within the scope of the recent project, Saudi Arabia plans to increase the mosque's indoor capacity to 630,000 people. The current project is being carried out in two stages. The first, which began in 2009, involved the demolition of 2,350 hotels, offices and other buildings around the mosque, with another 1,900 buildings set to be demolished soon. During the second stage, which is currently being carried out, the prayer area will be expanded.

http://en.haberler.com/ottoman-porti...tected-247070/

[Roukaya19]

Special Effort to Protect Ottoman Porticos in Kaaba

10.12.2012

Deputy Foreign Minister Naci Koru has examined the situation about the Ottoman porticos within the Masjid al-Haram (Grand Mosque) in Mecca in Saudi Arabia, where he has been on the occasion of a meeting. Koru came together with the officials of the Turkish company which is carrying out the enlargement project of the mosque.

In a statement given to Cihan News Agency (Cihan), Naci Koru said within the scope of the recent project, certain sections of the porticos which are in the direction of mount Safa among about 500 pillars around the Kaaba will be moved 40 meters inside. He added that the other section will be raised by being filled from the bottom. Moreover, the reparation required for the Ottoman porticos will be done in accordance with the original form.

Deputy FM also noted that according to the company officials, only the porticos that have no hictorical value will be demolished. “The domes of some porticos that have been demolishing recently are made of brick; they are not original. These are reinforced concrete domes re-built during the previous construction works. Actually, this case can be clearly understood with construction irons revealed during the demolition works.” indicated Naci Koru.

Koru continued as “According to the information we got, the government of Saudi Arabia gives special importance on protecting the porticos. Construction works in Haram are not given to strangers. That is why a Turkish company is selected, considering that ‘Turks are the best for the task’. Giving the project to a professional company shows there is no need to worry. As a diplomat who served in this country for five years, I feel happy with the approach of Saudi authorities to this issue.”

http://en.cihan.com.tr/caption/Speci...c4NTI2LzEwMDQ=

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[mecca moon]

http://twitter.com/hsnalmalki/status...972608/photo/1

[mecca moon]

http://twitter.com/hsnalmalki/status...984769/photo/1

[Roukaya19]

Mataf Expansion Progress

11 December 2012

[Roukaya19]

Originally Posted by mecca moon

http://twitter.com/hsnalmalki/status...984769/photo/1

What's this??? they took off!...or it's new one?

[mecca moon]

Surround built Bin Laden for the experience

[Roukaya19]

ok Thanks

11 December 2012

[Makkawi.Pk]

Originally Posted by Roukaya19

What's this??? they took off!...or it's new one?

Definitely the new one, what is the location?

[Roukaya19]

Pictures confirm the beginning of wiping and deforming of Ummayyad-era inscriptions
on the Abbasid Columns' Pillars in Masjid-al-Haram.

صور) تؤكد البدء في طمس وازالة النقوش الاموية في اعمدة الرواق العباسي بالحرم المكي الشريف

كشف مغردون سعوديون عن بدء عمليات طمس وتشويه اعمدة تاريخية موجودة في الحرم المكي الشريف يعود تاريخ بعضها الى العهد الاموي .

وتعتبر تلك الاعمدة جزء مهما من الرواق العباسي والمشهور بالرواق العثماني ، وقال المغردون الذي التقط احدهم وهو المغرد احمد الشريف صورا يوم امس للرواق انه تتم عمليات طمس ممنهجة للاعمدة ، ونشر صورا تؤكد ذلك .

وتشير الصور الى ان الاعمدة يتم طمسها وطمس النقوش والايات القرأنية التي عليها بواسطة مواد اقرب ما تكون الى الرخام حيث تختفي النقوش تماما .

ويأتي هذا الطمس والازالة للاعمدة التاريخية ليؤكد مخاوف اطلقها باحثون وكتاب ومغردون سعوديون عن محاولات لازالة معالم الرواق ، وهو ما نفاه مسئولون من شئون الحرمين الشريفين مؤخرا ، الا ان الوقائع تؤكد عكس ذلك .

(الصورة -1 والصورة -2 ترصد عمليات الطمس)، (الصورة -3 والصورة 4- الاعمدة بنقوشها التاريخية قبل الطمس)

http://www.ararnews.net/news-action-show-id-20470.htm

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Google translation:

Saudi twitter users revealed that the procedure of wiping and deforming historical pillars in Masjid-al-Haram, some of which date back to the Ummayyad era, has started.

These Pillars are considered to be an important part of the Abbasid Columns, famously known as Ottoman Columns. And one of the twitter-users Ahmad Al-Shareef, who took pictures of the pillars yesterday, said a systematic procedure of wiping the pillars is being carried out, and he also published pictures that confirm this.

The pictures indicate that the pillars are being wiped, and the Inscriptions and Quranic verses on them are being wiped using a material closest to marble as the inscriptions disappear completely.

And this wiping and removal of historical pillars comes to confirm the fears voiced by reasearchers, authors, and saudi twitter users on attempts to remove the Landmark Columns. The authorities of Al-Haramain Al-Shareefain denied that recently, but the facts prove otherwise.

(Image 1 & 2-Observing the procedure of wiping), (Image 3 & 4-Pillars with historic inscriptions before wiping).

Translation by Makkawi.Pk...Thanks!

[abukhaled]

We need a clear evidence because there are a lot of people trying to fabricate the facts .Maybe just a special material added to protect the columns during transport or amendments.

[Makkawi.Pk]

Agreed, besides the source is not credible. It is taking news from twitter users, famous for spreading rumours.

Originally Posted by Roukaya19

Makkawi.Pk...I know it need good translation, so do it! ...and send me : )

Title: Pictures confirm the beginning of wiping and deforming of Ummayyad-era inscriptions on the Abbasid Columns' Pillars in Masjid-al-Haram.

Saudi twitter users revealed that the procedure of wiping and deforming historical pillars in Masjid-al-Haram, some of which date back to the Ummayyad era, has started.

These Pillars are considered to be an important part of the Abbasid Columns, famously known as Ottoman Columns. And one of the twitter-users Ahmad Al-Shareef, who took pictures of the pillars yesterday, said a systematic procedure of wiping the pillars is being carried out, and he also published pictures that confirm this.

The pictures indicate that the pillars are being wiped, and the Inscriptions and Quranic verses on them are being wiped using a material closest to marble as the inscriptions disappear completely.

And this wiping and removal of historical pillars comes to confirm the fears voiced by reasearchers, authors, and saudi twitter users on attempts to remove the Landmark Columns. The authorities of Al-Haramain Al-Shareefain denied that recently, but the facts prove otherwise.

(Image 1 & 2-Observing the procedure of wiping), (Image 3 & 4-Pillars with historic inscriptions before wiping).

[Roukaya19]

Originally Posted by abukhaled

We need a clear evidence because there are a lot of people trying to fabricate the facts .Maybe just a special material added to protect the columns during transport or amendments.

Originally Posted by Makkawi.Pk

Agreed, besides the source is not credible. It is taking news from twitter users, famous for spreading rumours.

Thanks both...yes I understand that twitter is not the best source.

[Roukaya19]

From Turkish Media:

Kaaba porches entrusted to the Turks
















http://www.haberturk.com/dunya/haber...urklere-emanet
http://galeri.haberturk.com/diger/ga...ere-emanet/1/6




















http://www.samanyoluhaber.com/foto-g...13459/resim-5/

[Roukaya19]

Mataf Expansion progress

12 December 2012

[3bdul3ziz]

i'm confused are the columns Ottoman or Abbasseya Umayyad ؟؟؟

BTW im talking about these

[Roukaya19]

History of
The Great Mosque Al-Haram

1 = Center of the earth.
2 = History, Makkah during Abraham.
3 = Year 157 before Hejrah, Makkah during Gussei, Grandfather to Prophet Mohammed.
4 = Year 12 before Hejrah, Makkah during Guraish.
5 = Year 91 Hejrah, Makkah the Omayied Era.
6 = Year 310 Hejrah, Makkah during the Abbasied Era.
7 = Year 1215 Hejra, Makkah during the Ottoman Empire.
8 = Year 1412 hejrah, makkah after completed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque, King Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz


Omayied and Abbasied Era

The Mosque of al-Haram was first built under the leadership of the Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab (634-644) and has been modified continuously under several Muslim rulers. Omar, the first Caliph, ordered the demolition of some houses surrounding the Ka'ba in order to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims and built a 1.5 meter high wall to delineate a large prayer area. During the reign of his successor Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan (644-656), the prayer space was enlarged and was covered with a roof carried on wooden columns and arches. In 692, after Caliph Abdul Malik bin Marwan conquered Mecca from Ibn Zubayr, the guardian of the holy site, the outer walls of the mosque were raised, the ceiling was covered with teak and the column capitals were painted in gold. His son, al-Walid (705-715), contributed to the Mosque of al-Haram by replacing the wooden columns with marble ones and by decorating its arches with mosaics. Later, Abbasid Caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur (754-775) added mosaics to the columns. He also doubled the size of the northern and western wings of the prayer hall and erected the minaret of Bab al-Umra on the northwest corner.

In 777, due to the growing number of pilgrims, Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi (775-785) ordered the rebuilding of the mosque, demolishing more houses around the Ka'ba. The new mosque enclosure centered on the Ka'ba, measured 196 meters by 142 meters. It was built on a grid plan, with marble columns from Egypt and Syria, decorated with gilt teak wooden inlay. Al-Mahdi also built three minarets crowned with crenellations and placed above Bab al-Salam, Bab Ali and Bab al-Wadi of the mosque.

In 1399, the northern part of Masjid al-Haram caught on fire, which damaged over a hundred marble columns and consumed the ceiling. The remaining sections suffered from water damage in a flood. The mosque was subsequently rebuilt by Mamluk Sultan Nasir Faraj bin Barquq (1399-1405). The damaged marble columns were replaced with stone columns quarried from the nearby mountains of the Hijaz region and the roof was patched with local wood from the Ta'if Mountains.

Ottoman Empire

The Ottomans sultans made their own contributions to Masjid al-Haram. In 1571, the Sultan Selim II (1566-1574) ordered court architect Sinan to renovate the mosque. Sinan replaced the flat roof of the prayer hall with domes decorated with gilded calligraphy on the inside. New columns brought from the nearby Shams Mountains, were placed among the old columns to support the new roof. Due to the damaging rains of 1611, Sultan Murad IV (1623-1640) ordered the restoration of the mosque and the rebuilding of the Ka'ba in 1629. The mosque was composed of a new stone arcade supported on thin columns, with inscriptive medallions between the arches. The floor tiles around the Ka'ba were replaced with new colored marble tiles and the mosque was equipped with seven minarets. By the end of the Ottoman rule in Hijaz during World War I, the external enclosure of the mosque measured 192 by 132 meters.

Saudi extensions

The Saudi Kings in their turn contributed also to the Mosque of al-Haram. Between 1955 and 1973, the first Saudi extension was sponsored by King Abdul Aziz (1932-1953). The new structure required extensive demolitions around the Ottoman mosque to a two-storey arcade made of artificial stone columns and covered with carved marble panels from Wadi Fatimah. The ceiling of these arcades was coffered and decorated with molded plaster and the floor was tiled with stone and marble. During this first Saudi extension, the Mas'a (the gallery connecting the Rock of al-Safa' with al-Marwah) was extended to reach the mosque. The extension was built on two floors, with a structure of reinforced concrete arches clad in carved marble and artificial stone. This gallery communicates with the street and the mosque through eleven doors. Bab al-Salam and Bab al-Umra were also renovated at this time to match the style of the newly built Bab King Abdul Aziz on the southern façade. Four minarets were erected near Bab al-Umra and Bab al-Salam and the three older ones were refashioned. As such, they stood eighty-nine meters tall on square bases. Each had two octagonal balconies decorated with colonettes; the first located at the height of the mosque roof while the second was at the top end of the shaft.

The second extension sponsored by King Fahd (1982-present), consisted of a new wing and an outdoor praying area, both situated to the south east of the existing mosque. The new prayer hall is accessed through the monumental Fahd Gate at the southeast that leads to the Ka'ba. It is composed of two floors separated in some sections by a mezzanine that houses mechanical services; air conditioning circulates below the tiled floors and is supplied through ventilation grids located at the base of each column. The praying space is built on a five-meter grid. Its arcade is roofed with square coffers decorated with plaster molding. The columns are clad with marble panels, whereas the arches are covered with artificial stone and plaster moldings. Along the axis linking the Fahd Gate to the Ka'ba, three grid modules are covered with domes decorated with muqarnas squinches molded with plaster, that carry drums perforated by thirty-two arched windows. The dome space is illuminated with colored glass chandeliers and a backlit stained glass panel at the apex. The interior walls of the prayer hall are clad with a marble dado of 2.5 meters high. This decorative element was used to conceal loud speakers and electrical wiring.

The rooftop of the new extension is linked to the roof of the entire complex, which is designed to accommodate overflow. The prayer area also extends also to numerous plazas outside the mosque. The outdoor plaza at the southeast corner outside of Fahd Gate slopes slightly downward, emphasizing the direction of prayer. Parallel to the northeastern and the southwestern walls of the new extension, two rectangular projections were built to conceal the escalators connecting the basements and parking facilities below ground to the public plaza and the prayer halls above.

The second Saudi extension of the Masjid al-Haram took into consideration the architectural unity of the complex. The façade of the new praying space built by King Fahd blends in with the previous constructions, with its gray marble facing from the nearby Fatimah Mountains, inlaid with carved white marble bands and window frames. The monumental King Fahd Gate, which gives access to the new extension, consists of three arches with black and white voussoirs and carved white marble decoration. The gate is flanked by two minarets matching the older ones. The window modules along the façade of the prayer hall are covered with brass mashrabiyya and framed with carved bands of white marble. The minor gates have green tiled sloped canopies.

The Masjid al-Haram is the only mosque that has no qibla direction for the worshippers pray facing the Ka'ba, situated in the central open courtyard. The mosque today covers an area of 356,800 square meters including the outdoor and indoor praying spaces and can accommodate up to 820,000 worshippers during the hajj period.

Sources:

-Damluji, Salma Samar ed. 1998. The Architecture of the Holy Mosque Makkah. London: Hazar Publishing Limited.
-Al-Hariri-Rifai, Mokhless. 1990. The Heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Singapore: Eurasia Press, 200-212.
-Creswell, K.A.C. 1989. A Short Account of Early Muslim Architecture. Aldershot: Scholar Press, 3-6.

http://archnet.org/library/sites/one...p?site_id=8803

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Nice going...