Abraj Al Bait

The Abraj Al Bait complex rises directly beside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, making it one of the most symbolically charged skyscraper projects ever built. The central Mecca Royal Clock Tower stands 601 meters tall across 120 floors — at its 2012 completion the second-tallest building in the world after the Burj Khalifa, a record it has since ceded to several newer towers. The site was previously occupied by an Ottoman-era citadel whose demolition proved controversial among historians and heritage advocates. Today the complex serves millions of Hajj pilgrims with hotel accommodation, shopping arcades, and a clock face — one of the largest in the world — visible from vast distances across the city. Access is restricted to Muslims, as the complex sits within Mecca's non-Muslim exclusion zone.