


The destruction of the historically significant site in 2002 by the Saudi government sparked an outcry and a strong reaction from Turkey.Cambridge UK & Makkah Saudi Arabia.


The complex was built after the demolition of the Ajyad Fortress, the 18th-century Ottoman citadel on top of a hill overlooking the Grand Mosque. It is the world's second most expensive building, with the total cost of construction totalling US$15 billion. The developer and contractor of the complex is the Saudi Binladin Group, the Kingdom's largest construction company. The building complex is 300 metres away from the world's largest mosque and Islam's most sacred site, the Great Mosque of Mecca. SL Rasch GmbH and Dar Al-Handasah Architects Main structural system: reinforced concrete (lower part), steel/concrete composite construction, steel construction (upper part) Ĭladding: glass, marble, natural stone, carbon-/glass- fibre-reinforced plasticĭevelopment: 1,575,815 m 2 (16,961,930 sq ft) (389.4 acres)
