Megastructure bigger than SIX Big Bens with the world's largest clock is the 4th tallest building on Earth… but you won't know it
IN THE heart of the Middle East lies a megastructure bigger than six Big Ben's and boasting the world's largest clock.
The Makkah Royal Clock Tower is no less than 600 meters high and is the tallest building in the world. Saudi Arabia – and the fourth highest in the world.
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It is also the sixth tallest free-standing structure in the world Soilfalling behind Burj Khalifa in Dubaithe Merdeka 118 Kuala Lumpurinto the Tokyo Skytree Tokyointo the Shanghai Tower Shanghaiand the Canton Tower in Guangzhou, China.
Located in the city of Mecca, the holiest place in the Islamic In the world it was built as part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project which aims to modernize the city to cater to its pilgrims.
More than 3 million of them go during the annual hajj to the world's largest mosque and Islam's most sacred site, the Grand Mosque of Mecca, just 300 meters away.
The tower is also the centerpiece of the government-owned Abraj Al Bait complex, which features seven luxury skyscraper hotels.
Read more in Saudi Arabia
Inside the Clock Tower you will find a five-story building shop shopping center and a parking garage with space for more than a thousand vehicles.
At the top of the building is the Clock Tower Museum, which occupies the top four floors.
Within the spire are an astrological observatory, an exhibition hall and an observation deck.
The Golden Crescent even contains a prayer room for the royal family and dignitaries and is the highest occupied man-made space in the world.
As for the clock itself, it stands at a total height of 187 feet.
The roof of the clock is 450 meters above the ground, making it the world's highest architectural clock.
At 123 floors, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower is one of the most impressive pieces of architecture ever created.
But it came at a price: the total construction costs made it the second most expensive building in the world.
From start to finish, it delivered a final bill of $15 billion (£11.9 billion).
After construction began in 2002, it would take nine years to complete – and ten years to open.
The tower was built by German engineers SL Rasch, who started their work 350 meters above the ground with a 12,000-ton steel structure.
Elsewhere, Baffling plans for the US's tallest skyscraper have been unveiled and it is not built in New York.
The ambitious project aims to be bigger than One World Trade Center, but the choice of location is unexpected.
And The world's tallest building that was abandoned mid-construction can finally be completed – more than ten years after the works started.
Billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed Bin Tala's ambitious plans to build a one-kilometre-high tower in Saudi Arabia came to an abrupt halt amid an apparent power play between the wealthy.
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