Abraj Al Bait, Mecca. By Noha Shariff

Abraj Al Bait might be one of the most magnificent hotel buildings that I have ever witnessed in my life. This picture was taken by me and I intentionally took this angle because the massive clock was not yet constructed. I want to emphasize more on the building itself as a whole and keep the clock structure for another time. Mecca where this building is found is the religious capital of Islam, it was never known to have enormous and highly developed structures around it, except the Harram itself where the important religious practices are held. Comparing Abraj Al Bait with the other hotels next to it, you can see how mediocre they are even though the hotel on the right with wooden windows is a Hilton. Yet, Abraj Al Bait stands there with such architectural intelligence. The feeling I got as I passed by the building heading to the Harram for prayer was indescribable, simply pure astonishment of how far architecture and the human civilization was able to get to reach to this level of superiority. The image on the bottom is an online photo of Abraj Al Bait with the completed construction.