World's Tallest Clock Tower (Maasha-Allah)

Abraj-Al-Bait World's Tallest Clock Tower In Makkah-Al-Mukarramah

 

The Makkah Clock, which Riyadh says is the world’s largest, has four faces measuring 43 metres in diameter.

The clock will dwarf London’s Big Ben, once the largest four-faced clock in the world, with dials more than five times greater in area.

The around 130 foot (40 meter) diameter Saudi clock dials are also bigger than the current world champion at the Cevahir Mall clock in Istanbul, which has a 36 meter face set in the transparent roof of the shopping complex.

Over 90 million pieces of coloured glass mosaic embellish the sides of the clock, which has four faces each bearing a large inscription of the name “Allah”. It is visible from all corners of the city, the state news agency said.

Each face will be inscribed with “God is greatest” in Arabic and fitted with thousands of colored lights. The clock will be visible from more than 16 miles (25 kilometers).

A huge golden crescent moon, 75 feet (23 meters) in diameter, will eventually rise above the clock on a 200 foot (61 meter) spire, from which some 15 beams will shoot up into the sky. The entire clock, from the base up to the crescent, itself will be 820 feet (251 meters) high.

At 151 feet in diameter, the four clock faces on the Makkah clock tower is just about as wide as an American 160-foot-wide football field, and absolutely dwarfs the world’s most famous tower clock faces, Big Ben’s 23-footers. It also takes advantage of modern technology, as its four faces will light up the sky with two million LEDs.

German and Swiss engineers designed the clock and according to the Ministry of Religious Endowments, the entire project will cost $800 million.

The seven tower complex is being built by developer Saudi Binladen Group, the press agency reported.

 

Final touches are being given to the world’s biggest clock in Makkah clock tower for its trial run on August, 11th, during the first week of the holy month of Ramadan. The Makkah Clock project, which has been developed by engineers from Germany and Switzerland along with a team of specialists from Europe and around the world, will be fully completed after three months in operation.

The clock, with a diametre of more than 40 metres, which can be seen from a distance of eight kilometres, is part of the 400-metre clock tower. The clock will be six times bigger than London’s Big Ben.

The Makkah Clock Royal Tower complex includes over 500 shopping outlets and food courts, luxury apartments on levels 30 to 52, five ‘Royal’ floors, and the 1,005-room Fairmont Hotel, which covers a further 28 floors. There are a total of 76 elevators.

The tower housing the clock is being built in a peculiar Islamic style of architecture while the clock will have four faces – one in each direction. The Name of Allah will be inscribed on each of the four clock faces and two lifts will carry visitors to a balcony below the clocks.