The Clock Tower in Makkah Al-Mukarramah .. Facts and information

ArabiaWeather.com - Muthanna Hazeen - The Clock Tower in Makkah Al-Mukarramah , overlooking the Sacred House of God, has become one of the most prominent landmarks in the Holy City since its inauguration, as it reflects the civilized and advanced technical aspects in Saudi Arabia .

The clock tower was built on the ruins of the ancient Ajyad castle. It is located above the Abraj Al-Bait complex, where the clock can be seen from all neighborhoods of Makkah Al-Mukarramah from a distance of more than eight kilometers.

The Makkah Clock is the largest tower clock in the world due to its facade diameter of more than 40 meters and its height of more than 400 meters above ground level.

The clock consists of four facades. The size of the front and back facades is 43 meters by 43 meters, while the size of the two side facades is about 43 meters by 39 meters. The largest takbeer sentence (God is Great) in the world can be seen above the clock, as the length of the letter A in the name of Majesty reaches God to more than 23 meters and the diameter of the crescent is 23 meters.

- The clock was set by the independent Makkah Time, which takes its information from 5 high-precision atomic clocks that form the main part of the Makkah Time Center, and the Makkah Time Center has been linked to the World Time Network (UTC), which is based in Paris.

- The decorative clock face is covered with 98 million pieces of colored glass mosaics, while the minute hands are 22 meters long and the hour hands 17 meters long. Each hand weighs 6 tons, made of (carbon fiber).

- The total height of the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Clock Tower is 601 meters, while the height of the clock from its base to the highest point at the top of the crescent is 251 meters.

- On some Islamic occasions, such as entering the Hijri months and holidays, 16 special vertical light beams are lit that reach more than 10 kilometers towards the sky, and the power of each light beam is 10 kilowatts.

- The call to prayer at the Grand Mosque is broadcasted directly from the highest clock in Makkah through special loudspeakers, where the call to prayer can be heard in the vicinity of the Grand Mosque, from a distance of approximately 7 kilometers.

- The watch face is white with black indicators during the day, and green and white indicators at night.

- At the top of the tower there is an observation deck, an Islamic museum, a moon exploration center, and a chapel, which can accommodate ten thousand people.

- It is believed that the cost of the entire project is 3 billion dollars, which includes 6 other buildings that include the most luxurious hotels and apartments.

- It is the largest building in terms of floor area, which covers a huge area of 1,500,000 square kilometres.

Two million LED lights are used in the lighting system to illuminate the Mecca clock at night.

The total weight of the Mecca Clock is 36,000 tons