My belated husband Abdullah was born and raised in Makkah. He grew up in a neighborhood where he and his Dad could walk easily to the Haram to pray. He remembered clearly the elderly man who walked through their neighborhood just prior to the break of dawn calling out to residents that it was near the time for the first prayer. They would also hear the call of the adhan from the Haram resonate throughout their home prior to each prayer.
This was the time that all neighbors knew one another and could count on each other. Many neighbors were also related to one another. My husband shared how three houses on the same street were owned and occupied by family members. During our last visit to Makkah together he took me to where the old neighborhood existed but the face of it had changed significantly. Only one of the original homes which had been within the family was still in existence. The others had been sold long ago and had been knocked down to make way for newer modern structures which could hold multi-families who came to Makkah during Hajj.
My husband remarked about the many changes in Makkah. Each year it seemed there were continued expansions of the Haram in order to hold more pilgrims during Hajj. With the expansions, old homes and apartment buildings were torn down. In their place rose new high rise apartment buildings and hotels, changing the skyline of Makkah. Old Saudi residents and families became displaced and sought new neighborhoods where they could make a home.
Many of the old residents of Makkah now live in the outer rim of the Haram boundaries and not in the epicenter as before. Most of the epicenter is occupied by the millions of visitors who come to perform Hajj or umrah. Several of my husband’s family members made new homes which were farther from the Haram due to the rising costs of housing.
Yet there is an ethereal feeling to be in Makkah, regardless of whether at the epicenter or the outer rim of the Haram boundaries. The (local) Saudis seem to be more relaxed than the ones encountered in Riyadh or other large cities within the Kingdom. At times of challenge or at times to give extra thanks, a local can go to the Haram and bask in the tranquility.
Some say that Makkah has become too modernized with its new skyline and most recently with the addition of the new Makkah clock. Frankly, I think it is unrealistic to believe that places will remain unchanged. In my opinion, rather than seeing the Holy city of Makkah as too modernized by the towering clock, I view it more as a beacon which welcomes and guides Muslims from all corners of the earth towards the Ka’abah to pray.
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Yeah… I think I’ll second that. Even though it looks kinda weird to have the Makkah clock. But it is just like human evolution. Things aren’t stagnant and we shouldn’t remain in the stone age era as stone age creatures.
Sorry – I think it looks really heinous. That’s the main problem. You can modernize without losing charm, but here they have really made a mess of things
I am not muslin so I don’t know what goes on in Mekkah. What is inside the clock are they offices ? The Ka’ba is not inside of this right?
No, the Ka’abah is not inside this building. The Makkah Clock Tower contains hotels, shopping malls, large mosque and offices.
Makkah under the control of Saudis has been made too much of a capitalist centre rather than pilgrimage place.
They are demolishing all the cheap and affordable hotels and on top of it building costly hotels.
Also with all the Rolex, Gucci, Versace’s showrooms cropping up right outside the Haram is utterly not good.
I think it the most preposterous ugly badly designed revolting building I have ever seen. The ultimate expression of bad taste, both in the absurdity of it’s semi nineteenth century look as to the insanely ridiculous scale.
You really have to be a parvenu to appreciate that building.
It give Mecca the look of a Walt Disney park gone berserk.
And it’s even worse to build that atrocity near the haram. It is the expression of bad taste and unbridled commercialism in a place which should be spiritual and elevating.
And as I understand the Meccans didn’t leave their old homes willingly, they were kicked out by force to make place for big tourist hotels and make big bucks for the people in power. And these sweeps have been going on regularly, displacing the Meccans for more commercial buildings.
F has some old old pics of mecca, some of it when he were a very young kid and it’s so different. I love the old look, i like th enew one too – evolution i guess,i just wish they had not combined the 2. They could have built this huge thing somewhere else and kept mecca pristine and as it was … i always think anythinng with age and relevence should be preserved as is.. gives us a look back in time and brings a strange peac with it.. oh wel it’s done i guess..
and all glossy and shiny – the new look
There is a limit to the number of people the Haram can accommodate. I wonder whether the new facilities provide for significantly greater numbers of people than the Haram can hold. That would be the real mistake, not modernization as such. No matter what they build on the outside, the Haram is the Haram; its inner atmosphere inspires and comforts the soul. I can’t imagine they’d ruin that, except by allowing too many people.
Even in 1997, when I made Hajj, the overwhelming numbers of worshipers caused tremendous stress, even though everyone was polite. I’ve been told that the great masses of people at Hajj are indicative of the Day of Judgment. Be that as it may, there is a point at which earthly safety should not be compromised.
I’m thankful I enjoyed Makkah during the 80s and 90s, when it was just modern enough to be comfortable, yet old enough to make me feel as though I were not in the ordinary world.
To say that it is ugly would be too kind. Whoever issued the building permit for that monstrosity should be shot, beheaded, drown, hung and then made to listen to Oprah for an hour.
Jay…Oprah??? No no…I suggest an hours worth of bad American Idol auditions.
I am dismayed to read such scathing comments regarding the new structures in Makkah. Granted, the style and scale are not to everyone’s taste, but the complex needed to be functional as well as appeal to a broad audience. Remember, most Muslims in the world are not Arabs.
I haven’t visited Makkah since the new facilities have been completed, but I hope to do so, sometime. I see nothing ugly or monstrous in the photograph.
I don’t think the problem is specifically that structure. The fact is that there has been no co-ordinated planning of Mecca it is a hotch potch of old and new with no regard for preserving beauty or even tranquility. Commercialism reigns. The Hilton’s can’t go to Mecca but they can have a whopping hotel on the doorstep of the harram!
You would hope Mecca was a quiet and tranquil place for reflection and the search for inner peace or enlightenment. The building of the clock tower and new structures went on 24 hours a day. How are you supposed to concentrate on Ummrah when there is drilling 24/7?
I am not against development but the Kaaba is now dwarfed by these mega structures which lack beauty or any essence of spirituality.
It’s a shame not an improvement.
I agree with Sarah, the scale of this monstrosity is so gigantic, it dwarfs even the new huge haram development. Why does this have to be build right next to it? Why not create some new centers for shopping and business?
I think the planning could be better used to build huge hotels away from the haram, and have very good smooth public transport installed instead, and have left the surrounding area more authentic and especially less commercial.
A bit more appropriate to spirituality and reflection.
I’ve been pondering on the logistics of Makkah. It seems to me that in order to accommodate more Muslims at the Haram, expansion would need to go upward with more levels added. But then if that is done, while it would allow more Muslims in for umrah and prayers, there is still the issue of Hajj and the other areas where the rites of Hajj are performed. The last thing anyone wants is to increase a risk of stampede or injuries to Hajjis.
While I am undecided on the location of the clock, I do like the way it has been done with it’s symbols of the Kingdom. I am sure that for many within the Haram and around Makkah it is a comforting symbol. Although I also remember too well being there in the midst of the construction – it was kind of nerve racking with the noise and traffic.
Many of us always reminisce and yearn for the “old days.” I think that is natural and typical. I do wonder what my husband would think of today’s Makkah as compared to the Makkah he had grown up in.
Anyone who follows the news would know that the crush of pilgrims means they need to re-organize Mecca. Still, they hotel complex is outsized. Anyone who, like myself, has studied art would find the complex repulsive. There is Islamic architecture that could be used as an inspiration.
The Saudis should study how others solve this problem. How are visitors to the Vatican housed, how do they get there? When I see pictures of the Vatican I don’t see an oversize modern hotel dwarfing St. Peters. This is ugly and wrong.
I agree with Jerry. I have studied art and I am repulsed.
To use an understatement.
I actually feel it is making a bad statement towards islam. A commercial building dwarfing the haram, commerce over religion.
And I also agree about the design. Not only is it completely our of place, looks ridiculous blown up out of all proportion, I don’t see why it has to be using western architecture when there are so many beautiful kinds of Islamic architecture they could have used.
Or even modern design.
Futuristic.
Why this ”Back-to-the-eighties-neo-post-modernism”????
Although any kind of architecture would me made ridiculous when blown up to such an idiotic scale.
Actually my first thought when I saw the plans last year was: Las Vegas does Mecca.
It looks like so much city center architecture in large cities in the US. I didn’t realize that Saudis were as familiar with US city center architecture as they must be to copy it so well. I have never seen something so massive that didn’t try to say something (other than welcome to 1920).
Bottom line- I think someone with good wasta is making money hand over fist- and that’s what’s deciding things.
Islamic architecture has always been a pleasure to look at no matter what period of history its from. Arabs are so proud of their heritage Im wondering who made the final decision to make that structure so NOT in keeping with Arab culture and traditional architectural practices?
Is this the Arab version of keeping up with the Joneses?
“Las Vegas does Mecca” – hahaha!! That’s great, Aaafke!
Personally I don’t particularly like it for a variety of reasons, though the style of the architecture doesn’t really turn me off. Whatever – since I’m not a Muslim and won’t likely ever get to go see it myself, I don’t suppose my opinion much matters, lol.
Eid Mubarak and best wishes to all those who do happen to be Muslim, and especially you, Bedu
“Las Vegas does Makkah” hahaha absolutely! That’s what it’s like!
I wish it wouldn’t dwarf the haram, it makes the complex look small and it should be the main focus of the area in my own opinion. I don’t think Saudi is doing a good job of maintaining it’s own integrity.
@AzureEyes – “Las Vegas does Mecca” – hahaha!! That’s great, Aaafke!
Personally I don’t particularly like it for a variety of reasons, though the style of the architecture doesn’t really turn me off. Whatever – since I’m not a Muslim and won’t likely ever get to go see it myself, I don’t suppose my opinion much matters, lol.
Eid Mubarak and best wishes to all those who do happen to be Muslim, and especially you, Bedu
Can I just say ditto to everything you said?
This is a project by the royal family. It is called Wagf King Abdul Aziz, which means it is build by using money he left for the next generation of Royals to build it.
Profits from a Wagf can be used as a share between descendants, or can be used as charity, not clear which one in this case.
As it is a royal project nothing could have stood in its way or prevented either the people who lived on that spot being chased away, or argue against the bad taste of design or impropriety of building some gigantic commercial monstrosity, which dwarfs the haram, right next to it.
And as it is a royal project and royals of course have everything the largest, the tower must be the tallest as well
It’s now the tallest tower in the world except for the one in Dubai.
What is it with men that they always must have the ”largest” or the ”longest” or the ”tallest”? And if theirs is not they need to compensate with large cars or tall buildings?
@ Lynn – I’m told great minds think alike
@ Aafke –
“What is it with men that they always must have the ”largest” or the ”longest” or the ”tallest”? And if theirs is not they need to compensate with large cars or tall buildings?” – You said it!
damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
I agree with Carol that there is no place left to build but up. They cannot now knock down the massive and costly hotels they have built.
Sureley the best thing would have been to creat an open plateau around the Kaaba with some zoning but the Kaaba is now hosed inside the walls of the mosque which has severley limited access to the now millions who come for Hajj.
Also, the whole infrastructure is unable to cope. Roads, Airports, transport all need rearranging (or arranging at all really)
How wonderful if the money from this project could have been thoughtfully spent on providing free basic accomodation for pilgrims with a free kitchen and a zone where pilgrims could be accomodated as guests of the royals.
That really would have been an astounding achievement. This clock tower is just a waste of time, effort and moeny, I don’t know what comfort I am supposed to get as a pilgrim watching my time tick away?
man the clock looks so weird
[...] posted here: Saudi Arabia: Has Makkah Become Too Modernized? « American Bedu This entry was posted in Hajj & Ummrah and tagged been-knocked, earth, makkah, makkah-as-too, [...]
salaam and hello.. I just came across your site and article. I felt I must respond to this topic. I just visited Makkah last week for my Umrah. I was disappointed when seeing Kabbah because 30 large construction cranes surrounded Masjid al- Haraam. Also the clock tower is very distracting when doing ta’waf. I do not mind things being modern but the Kabbahs presence and power should not be taking away from by surrounding it with skyscrapers. I really feel it takes away from the spiritual side of Kabbah. It should be Kabbah and sky around you, not tall buildings. Might as well do tawaf in New York city.
modern is one thing too commercialized may be a problem. They should keep hotels at a far distance.
The construction is tearing into the hillside of Makkah. Things just did not feel right. I felt a bit sad.
just my opinion. Salaamalaikum Anwar
salaam and hello.. I just came across your site and article. I felt I must respond to this topic. I just visited Makkah last week for my Umrah. I was disappointed when seeing Kabbah because 30 large construction cranes surrounded Masjid al- Haraam. Also the clock tower is very distracting when doing ta’waf. I do not mind things being modern but the Kabbahs presence and power should not be taken away from by surrounding it with skyscrapers. I really feel it takes away from the spiritual side of Kabbah. It should be Kabbah and sky around you, not tall buildings. Might as well do tawaf in New York city.
modern is one thing too commercialized may be a problem. They should keep hotels at a far distance.
The construction is tearing into the hillside of Makkah. Things just did not feel right. I felt a bit sad.
just my opinion. Salaamalaikum Anwar
[...] Makkah with its centerpiece clock, Jeddah will have its own facelift with construction of what would be the highest building in the [...]
Salaam, first of all this tower is the most disgusting act of innovation in itself; the saudi’s are spending billions on projects which disrespect the haram, this is because this so called clock tower is 3 times higher than the minar’s of the haram and it is also higher than the kabah which means people are standing in itself on top of the kabah in their hotel rooms which is total disrespect
Also to add more the billions spent on this project could have been spent wisely elsewhere on palestine and where muslims are struggling today but these so called royal family are turning with the kufars and building skyscrapers like las vegas
People talk about history taken away from the muslims…look around in madinah and makkah what is there to see anymore, janatul baqi and ma’la have been destroyed to the ground people like you and me cannot tell which companions graves are which and then you have these saudi’s spending billions on skyscrapers, we need to wake up and look around to the fitna these people have caused within the holy land!!!!
These are the same people who are the puppets of america and use their oil to fund haram things instead of freeing palestine or helping the muslims who are at struggle out there
The vital thing is this tower having the value of the second biggest clock tower in the world is the biggest fitna and trouble around us today as this is a sign of the day of judgement when people will compete to build tall buildings which the non beleivers are doing today
Forget listening to the prophet PBUH sayings but follow in the footsteps of the biggest zionists on earth and ruin the holy land
All these lost people thinking that this clock tower brings space for pilgrims are hypnotized as i have been and i spent my time in a 3 star hotel which was good enough….there is enough space but the greed for this world is taking over us….also hajj and umrah is a struggle so there is no need for these 5 star hotels to be built for our comfort….we are at a struggle to perform hajj and we should complete it at that
just a few clear pointers need posting to everyone
May ALLAH SWT protect us and forgive our sins and give us the ability to walk this earth in the footsteps of prophet muhammad sallahu alay hi wasalam and to abide by the quran and sunnah
Asalaamulaikum
I would encourage a boycott of hajj and umrah until the commercialism is taken away. Hit them in their pockets and they will start praying properly
But I know that will never happen. It doesn’t seem that Muslims can get together on anything other than hatred of Jews and cartoonists.
[...] you ask a Saudi about Makkah many will talk about the way Makkah was…before the day of the Clocktower. I used to believe that the Clocktower in Makkah was a welcoming beacon but I have changed my [...]
[...] you ask a Saudi about Makkah many will talk about the way Makkah was…before the day of the Clocktower. I used to believe that the Clocktower in Makkah was a welcoming beacon but I have changed my [...]
Zaheir,
I agree I don’t like the Clock Tower- but I find your indiscriminent anti-American drivel distasteful. I disagree with a lot of foreign policy but it is the Islamic worlds fault if they are a mess. It was the US that helped Bosnia, Kuwait and now Libya. And there are many Muslims in America- even Las Vegas. Not all skyscrapers are sinful.
I don’t mind the modernization- but what’s being done is in poor taste. You see that clock which is really overbearing and you can almost hear “mine is bigger than yours” which doesn’t seem like a spiritual message. It could have been positioned further away and it would have been better.
I don’t have a problem that their are some luxury accomodations, but their should also be more affordable ones.
They should really have had the closest ring of accomodations more modest and the taller ones further back. They could put in a continous tram or shuttle to move people. Sigh. Who listens to me???
Zaheir…how is money going to free the palestinians?
let’s hope that even through something as simple as a blog that peoples voices are heard.
nice pic ………………..
[...] The Holy city of Makkah has already undergone a significant facelift with the construction of the Makkah clock tower as well as expansion of the Haram to accommodate more pilgrims. Many Saudis would not recognize the Makkah of today as compared to the simplistic Makkah of the past. [...]
I completely agre with Mr.Anwar.
Commercialism ain’t it great. Gotham City with bats in the belfry. I wonder if batman will come in and save the innocent from being behead for witchcraft.
Maybe batwoman with do it. I think that is far more pausible.
Why didn’t the Saudis approach Mecca like the French did with Paris?
In central Paris the old styles of architecture from the 19th century are still up. All the new buildings are in the pheriphery – i.e. La Defense, the big business district, is actually in the northwestern suburbs, outside the city limits!!!