The
Abraj Al-Bait Towers, also known as the
Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel, is a
government-owned megatall building complex in
Mecca,
Saudi Arabia. These towers are a part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project that strives to modernize the city in catering to its pilgrims. The central
hotel building has the
world's largest clock face and is the third tallest building and fourth tallest freestanding structure in the world. The building complex is metres away from the world's largest
mosque and
Islam's most sacred site, the
Masjid al-Haram. The developer and contractor of the complex is the
Saudi Binladin Group, the Kingdom's largest construction company. The complex was built after the demolition of the
Ajyad Fortress, the 18th-century
Ottoman citadel which stood atop a hill overlooking the Grand Mosque. The destruction of the fort in 2002 by the
Saudi government sparked Turkish and international outcry.