Construction of Abraj Al Bait

Abraj Al Bait, also known as the Makkah Royal Clock Tower complex, is a group of skyscrapers beside the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It was built by the Saudi Binladin Group and completed in the early 2010s. The tallest tower, topped with a huge clock, rises to about six hundred meters and is among the tallest buildings in the world. The complex contains hotels, shopping areas and apartments, serving the millions of pilgrims who come for the Hajj and Umrah. The project was criticized because it required the demolition of historic Ottoman-era structures nearby and because its scale overshadows the mosque.

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