Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower

아브라즈 알 바이트 시계탑

The Clock Towers, once called Abraj al-Bait, are a government-owned hotel complex of seven skyscraper hotels in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The tallest one, the Mecca Royal Clock Tower, is 601 metres high. It is the tallest building in Saudi Arabia, the fourth-tallest building in the world and, according to Guinness World Records, the tallest clock tower in the world.

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At a glance

Country: Saudi Arabia
Location: Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Built: 2012
Height: 601 m
Type: Skyscraper

Quick answers

Where is Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower?

Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower is in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

When was Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower built?

Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower was built in 2012.

How tall is Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower?

Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower is about 601 m tall.

A 601 m hotel tower beside Mecca's Grand Mosque, carrying the world's largest clock faces on all four sides.

The complex stands about 300 metres from the Great Mosque of Mecca, Islam's most sacred site, and helps house the millions of pilgrims who come to Mecca every year. It is part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project, which aims to modernise the city for visitors. The whole complex cost about 15 billion US dollars, and its clock faces are the largest in the world.

The giant clock

Each of the four clock faces measures 43 metres across, which makes them the largest in the world. The clock roof is 450 metres above the ground, so it is also the highest architectural clock. The clock can be seen from about 25 kilometres away, and each face is lit by about 2 million LED lights and covered with about 98 million pieces of glass mosaic. The minute hand is 23 metres long and the hour hand is 18 metres. Despite talk of a special Mecca time, the clock is set to Arabia Standard Time.

The spire and crescent

On top of the clock is a spire with an eight-storey glass-covered base called The Jewel, which holds a science centre used to sight the moon at the start of each Islamic month. An atomic clock there controls the tower's clock faces. At the very top is a golden crescent 21 metres across, made of fibreglass-backed gold mosaic and weighing up to 35 tonnes. It was built in Dubai in 2011 in about three months. Loudspeakers on the minaret can send the call to prayer about 7 kilometres.

Building the towers

The developer and builder was the Saudi Binladin Group. The towers were built after an 18th-century Ottoman fortress on the hill, Ajyad Fortress, was demolished. In 2006 the main tower was planned to be 734 metres tall, but in 2009 the final height was announced as 601 metres. Because it is in Mecca, non-Muslim members of the construction team were not allowed to visit, and some specialists from Poland and Germany converted to Islam to take part. There were two fires during construction, in 2008 and 2009, with no deaths reported.

Fun facts

Each of its four clock faces is 43 m across.
The clock can be seen from about 25 kilometres away.
The top four floors of the main tower hold the Clock Tower Museum.
The tower has a five-star Fairmont hotel and a five-storey shopping mall in the complex.
The golden crescent weighs up to 35 tonnes.