The Clock Towers facts for kids

21°25′8″N 39°49′35″E / 21.41889°N 39.82639°E / 21.41889; 39.82639

Quick facts for kids The Clock Towers
أبراج الساعة

Record height
Tallest in Saudi Arabia since 2012
Preceded by	Kingdom Centre
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Mixed use: Hotel, Residential
Architectural style	Postmodern New Classical
Location	Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Country	Saudi Arabia
Construction started	2002; 23 years ago (2002)
Completed	2011; 14 years ago (2011)
Opening	Template:Start date and age and link
Cost	US$15 billion
Height
Architectural	601 m (1,972 ft)
Tip	601 m (1,972 ft)
Antenna spire	93 metres (305 feet)
Roof	508 m (1,667 ft)
Top floor	494 m (1,621 ft)
Observatory	484.4 m (1,589 ft)
Technical details
Material	main structural system: reinforced concrete (lower part), steel/concrete composite construction, steel construction (upper part); cladding: glass, marble, natural stone, carbon-/glass-fibre-reinforced plastic
Floor count	120 (Clock Tower)
Floor area	Tower: 310,638 m² (3,343,680 sq ft) Development: 1,575,815 m² (16,961,930 sq ft) (389.4 acres)
Lifts/elevators	96 (Clock Tower with mall included)
Design and construction
Architect	SL Rasch GmbH and Dar Al-Handasah Architects
Structural engineer	SL Rasch GmbH and Dar Al-Handasah
Main contractor	Saudi Binladin Group

The Clock Towers (also known as Abraj as-Sa'ah) is a huge group of seven skyscraper hotels in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. These amazing towers are owned by the government. They are part of a big project to make the city more modern for the millions of people who visit Mecca each year.

The main tower, called the Mecca Clock Royal Tower, is one of the tallest buildings in the world. It is also the tallest clock tower on Earth! The giant clock faces on it are the largest in the world. The whole group of seven buildings is one of the most expensive buildings ever built, costing about US$15 billion.

The Clock Towers complex is very close to the Great Mosque of Mecca. This mosque is the largest in the world and is a very important holy site for Islam. The Saudi Binladin Group, a large construction company, built this massive complex. Before the towers were built, an old fort from the 1700s, called the Ajyad Fortress, was located on the site.

What are the Clock Towers?
- The Giant Clock
- Towers in the Complex
Amazing Features of the Clock Towers
- The Spire and Crescent
Construction Challenges
Images for kids
See also

What are the Clock Towers?

The Abraj Al Bait clocks, the largest in the world

The tallest tower in the complex stands at 601 meters (about 1,972 feet) high. This makes it the tallest building in Saudi Arabia! It's also one of the tallest freestanding structures in the world. For example, it's taller than the Ping An Finance Centre in China. However, it's not as tall as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The Clock Towers are located right across from the main entrance of the Masjid al-Haram mosque. This mosque is home to the Kaaba, a very sacred building. The towers provide many rooms for people visiting the Kaaba. The tallest tower has a fancy five-star hotel. This hotel helps give a place to stay for the millions of pilgrims who come to Mecca every year for the Hajj.

Besides hotels, the Clock Towers also have a five-story shopping mall. It's called The Clock Towers Shopping Center. There's also a large parking garage that can hold over a thousand cars. The entire project cost about US$15 billion to build.

The Giant Clock

The main hotel tower has huge clock faces on all four of its sides. These clocks are truly massive! Each clock face is 43 meters (about 141 feet) wide. This makes them the largest clock faces in the entire world.

The top of the clock is 450 meters (about 1,480 feet) above the ground. This means it's the highest architectural clock in the world. A tall spire sits on top of the clock, making the tower even taller. Behind the clock faces, there's a special exhibition about astronomy. There's also a scientific center that helps track the moon to mark the start of Islamic months. This center also uses an atomic clock to keep the tower clocks perfectly on time.

Towers in the Complex

The Clock Towers complex is made up of seven different towers. Each tower has its own name and purpose.

Tower	Meaning of Name	Height	Floors	Completed	Main Use
The Clock Tower	N/A	601 m (1,972 ft)	120	2012	Fairmont Makkah Clock Royal Tower Hotel
Hajar	Named after Hagar, mother of Ishmael	279 m (915 ft)	58	2012	Mövenpick Hotel & Residences Hajar Tower Makkah
Zamzam	Named after the Zamzam Well, a holy well in Mecca	279 m (915 ft)	58	2012	Pullman ZamZam Makkah Hotel
Maqam Ibrahim	Named after the Station of Ibrahim, a rock with Abraham's footprints	232 m (761 ft)	61	2012	Swissôtel al Maqam Makkah
Qibla	Named after the Qibla, the direction of prayer towards the Kaaba	232 m (761 ft)	61	2012	Swissôtel Makkah
Safa	Named after Safa and Marwa, hills in Mecca	220 m (720 ft)	46	2007	Raffles Makkah Palace Hotel
Marwah	Named after Safa and Marwa, hills in Mecca	220 m (720 ft)	46	2008	Al Marwa Rayhaan by Rotana - Makkah Hotel

Amazing Features of the Clock Towers

Abraj al Bait's architecture has fine detail

Abraj al Bait cladding

The huge clock on top of the building can be seen from as far as 25 kilometers (about 15 miles) away! It is the highest clock in the world, sitting over 400 meters (about 1,300 feet) above the ground. Its clock faces are also the largest in the world.

Each of the four clock faces is 43 meters (141 feet) across. They are lit up by 2 million LED lights! Above the clock faces, there is large Arabic writing. On the north and south sides, it says: "God is the greatest." On the west and east sides, it says: "There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of God." There are also four golden domes on pillars at each corner.

Lights on top of the clock flash to signal the five daily prayer times in Islam. For special events, like the new year, 21,000 green and white lights shine brightly. Powerful lasers can even shoot their beams 30 kilometers (about 18 miles) into the sky! The clock faces are covered with 98 million pieces of shiny glass mosaics. In the center of each clock, behind the hands, you can see the Emblem of Saudi Arabia. The minute hand is 23 meters (75 feet) long, and the hour hand is 18 meters (59 feet) long.

The Spire and Crescent

Abraj al Bait clock and spire

The very top part of the tower is called the spire. It has an eight-story glass section known as "The Jewel." This part contains a scientific center with a small exhibition. There's also an observation deck at 484 meters (about 1,588 feet) high, where you can see amazing views.

Above "The Jewel," the spire holds equipment for sound, light, and other important systems. At the very top, there's a crescent moon shape. This crescent is 21 meters (about 69 feet) wide. It has living areas and a prayer room inside. The crescent was built in Dubai and weighs about 35 tonnes.

Loudspeakers are placed in the minaret and its base. These speakers broadcast the calls to prayer. They can be heard up to 7 kilometers (about 4 miles) away, covering a large area.

Construction Challenges

Building such a massive complex wasn't easy! The Clock Towers had two fire incidents while they were being built.

The first fire happened at the Hajar Tower in October 2008. It took 400 firefighters to put out the blaze, which burned for 10 hours. Nine floors of the tower were affected. Luckily, no one was hurt. The fire spread quickly because of wood stored for construction.

The second fire occurred at the Safa Tower in May 2009. This fire was quickly put out, and again, no one was injured. Witnesses said the fire started when workers were welding metal rods on wooden platforms. The fire damaged parts of the tower that were still under construction.