Mecca, Saudi Arabia - A Holy City in Transition

[Skyscraperologist]

Below is a collection of my new never-before-seen images from Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Much of the historic city is currently being demolished. Each day, several buildings undergo controlled-demolition with explosives that leave dust clouds which seem to symbolize the past giving way to the future. Over the rubble, some of the tallest buildings on the planet are rising to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population and an ever growing number of pilgrims from the world's fastest growing religion who make their spiritual journeys (Umrah and Hajj) to Mecca from every part of the world. Welcome to a holy city in transition--Mecca, Saudi Arabia.


View from the roof of Abraj Al Bait--the largest hotel development in history with 15.6 Million sq. ft. of floor space)
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraj_Al_Bait_Towers
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The tallest tower in Abraj Al Bait, still under construction, is expected to reach a height of 1,952ft.
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This city of 1.7 million residents received around 15 million visitors in 2007 and that number is projected to grow 10% each year. Source:http://www.arabianbusiness.com/52308...oly-city?ln=en
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The Masjid Al Haram (Grand Mosque) at 1:46 AM. The Tawaf (circumambulation of the Kaabah) takes place 24/7. This is one of the few buildings on Earth that has been open to the public for literally hundreds of years without interruption.
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Abraj Al Bait-the world's largest hotel development-will soon be home the the second tallest building on Earth.
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Old Mecca
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New Mecca
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A cat relaxes on the hood of a new Toyota Camry.
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Cranes at work on construction to expand the Grand Mosque which can accommodate over 4 million worshippers
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Kaaba
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Mecca Hilton. Below the 30-storey Hilton, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and KFC are popular restaurants within meters of the Grand Mosque.
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[Kwame]

Nice Pictures. I love how Meccas is renewing itself.

[kuw01medan]

Labbaikallahuma Labbaik ......

[cmoonflyer]

So many cranes on construction site , when will it be finished ? Nice shots !

[christos-greece]

Nice thread

[Dhakaiya]

Great thread about a great city!

[Oaronuviss]

Some great buildings there...but I couldn't imagine a place without 'fun' like bars, and things of that nature. It's so strange to me. Obviously not to them, but if I were to ever visit a city such as that, it would be a huge culture shock.

[Azi]

They shouldn't be building massive skyscrapers above the sacred house. You will have people looking 'down' upon the house. I know most of you don't have a clue what I'm saying, but for those who have a sense, the end times are closer than we think.

[paderwan]

that gives masstourism a new scale

there should be rules that no building next to the mosque is allowed to taller.

[forrestcat]

Originally Posted by Oaronuviss

Some great buildings there...but I couldn't imagine a place without 'fun' like bars, and things of that nature. It's so strange to me. Obviously not to them, but if I were to ever visit a city such as that, it would be a huge culture shock.

Its a city for worship.

[Dhakaiya]

Originally Posted by paderwan

that gives masstourism a new scale

there should be rules that no building next to the mosque is allowed to taller.

The Kaaba is just the direction of Muslim worship, its not our God, and certainly no building can ever outsize Allah, therefore I don't find highrises a problem, but I also respect your opinion- its just that my opinion is different.

[Dhakaiya]

Originally Posted by Oaronuviss

Some great buildings there...but I couldn't imagine a place without 'fun' like bars, and things of that nature. It's so strange to me. Obviously not to them, but if I were to ever visit a city such as that, it would be a huge culture shock.

Seriously? And I always thought it would be impossible for me to live in a city with bars and clubs and stuffs! Its obviously not strange to us- Makkah is the capital of the Islamic world and a place of worship but even in major cities of the Islamic world such as Dhaka in Bangladesh (9th largest metropolis in the world according to Wikipedia) you will find huge malls, theme parks etc. but no bars/nightclubs or stuff like that. We like our environment this way- modernization while preserving values and traditions. No offence bro...I'm not critiscizing the Western way of life....its just that the ways are different and we must follow what we wish and respect all the ways, no matter which one we choose to tread.

[Meki]

My oncle is now there

[alitezar]

Amazing

[Oaronuviss]

Originally Posted by Dhakaiya

Seriously? And I always thought it would be impossible for me to live in a city with bars and clubs and stuffs! Its obviously not strange to us- Makkah is the capital of the Islamic world and a place of worship but even in major cities of the Islamic world such as Dhaka in Bangladesh (9th largest metropolis in the world according to Wikipedia) you will find huge malls, theme parks etc. but no bars/nightclubs or stuff like that. We like our environment this way- modernization while preserving values and traditions. No offence bro...I'm not critiscizing the Western way of life....its just that the ways are different and we must follow what we wish and respect all the ways, no matter which one we choose to tread.

Oh I know our cultures are very different, I was just saying, for me it would be huge culture shock... but Mecca seems like a big city, and a lot of people must live there, and not just for worship? What kind of things are there for leisure? Is it allowed there? Are there malls there? Theme parks? Theatres? Etc...?

[channel]

Great pictures

Much of the historic city is currently being demolished. Each day, several buildings undergo controlled-demolition with explosives that leave dust clouds which seem to symbolize the past giving way to the future. Over the rubble, some of the tallest buildings on the planet are rising to meet

this is so sad, i understand the need to increase building to meet population demand, however the old buildings demolished by explosives is not right in my opinion, the old building could be modernised without demolishing them. Preety soon the place will look like any other city with the modern skyscrapers. Mecca had deep heritage and it should not look like Miami at the expense of tradional houses with the alleys and steps

[PsychoBabble]

Too Flashy.

They should not have built buildings taller than the main mosque.

[Gordion]

Originally Posted by Azi

They shouldn't be building massive skyscrapers above the sacred house. You will have people looking 'down' upon the house.

Well done i agree with you! Those skyscrapers are too close and they look ugly.

[Dallas star]

Nice, pictures doesn't seem right to be destroying the city... Anyways imagine the Vatican city with Burj Dubai in it. I guess thats kinda what Mecca is becoming.

[yahali]

none of these buildings are being built by arabs or muslims theyr just giving billions of dollars to foreigners who dont even care about makkah. this is not good infact this is showing the patheticness of saudi arabia they destroy graves and tonbs of historical figures close down mosques and historical sites just to make a hotel and money