Photographs obtained by The Independent reveal how workers with drills and mechanical diggers have started demolishing some Ottoman and Abbasid sections on the eastern side of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.
Archaeologists fear billion-pound development has led to destruction of key historical sites
The building, which is also known as the Grand Mosque, is the holiest site in Islam because it contains the Kaaba – the point to which all Muslims face when praying. The columns are the last remaining sections of the mosque which date back more than a few hundred years and form the inner perimeter on the outskirts of the white marble floor surrounding the Kaaba.
Archaeologists fear billion-pound development has led to destruction of key historical sites
The new photos, taken over the last few weeks, have caused alarm among archaeologists. Many of the Ottoman and Abbasid columns in Mecca were inscribed with intricate Arabic calligraphy marking the names of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions and key moments in his life. One column which is believed to have been ripped down is supposed to mark the spot where Muslims believe Muhammad began his heavenly journey on a winged horse, which took him to Jerusalem and heaven in a single night.
While there is little disagreement over the need to expand, critics have accused the Saudi regime of wantonly disregarding the archaeological, historical and cultural heritage of Islam’s two holiest cities. In the last decade Mecca has been transformed from a dusty desert pilgrimage town into a gleaming metropolis of skyscrapers that tower over the Masjid al-Haram and are filled with a myriad of shopping malls, luxury apartments and five star hotels.
The Washington-based Gulf Institute estimates that 95 per cent of Mecca’s millennium-old buildings have been demolished in the past two decades alone.
Dozens of key historical sites dating back to the birth of Islam have already been lost and there is a scramble among archaeologists and academics to try and encourage the authorities to preserve what little remains.
The Mecca Royal Clock Tower is the ugliest construction yet, looming over the Haram mosque at a height of 1,900ft, with a five-star hotel, a five-floor shopping mall, two heliports and a conference centre within it’s bulk. Mecca authorities flattened a mountain, and destroyed an Ottoma-era fortress to accommodate its construction, but its appearance has drawn revulsion from locals and critics as an “architectural absurdity” and a “kitsch rendition of Big Ben.”
2 Comments
Khalid Ansari
February 15, 2014 at 10:49 pmAs per Saudi tastes-what else did anyone expect. In fact they might have moved up a bit.
Mustaffa Al basri bin Harun
March 26, 2014 at 11:30 amI agree absolutely on this article…not only we’ve ruined our history but we’re making muslims amazed watching huge manmade buildings like our old ancestors that have been condemmed by Allah….