SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi officials hope their giant clock will replace Greenwich Mean Time with Mecca Mean Time

Record ID: 188852

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi officials hope their giant clock will replace Greenwich Mean Time with Mecca Mean Time
  • Date: 3rd November 2011
  • Summary: MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA (NOVEMBER 2, 2011) (REUTERS) VIEW OF MECCA AND GIANT CLOCK MOSQUE VIEW OF GIANT CLOCK GIANT CLOCK FACE VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF MECCA LOCAL COUNCIL BUILDING DR. OSSAMA AL-BAR , MAYOR OF MECCA TALKING TO JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DR. OSSAMA AL-BAR, MAYOR OF MECCA, SAYING: ''Certainly the timing of Mecca has become one of the global timings based within the World Centre timings such as that of Greenwich mean time and other timings. We used to say 'Mecca time' relaying only on longitude, but now this timing has become an international timing and it has been recognised within global timings.'' PILGRIMS GETTING OFF OF MINI BUS VIEW OF GIANT CLOCK AND CONSTRUCTION SITE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MOHAMMAD, PILGRIM FROM ALGERIA, SAYING: ''Nothing pleased me more than when you hear the call to prayer and you see the clock on top and you see the lights, it's like something I've never seen before, and I have a feeling when I'm inside the Kaaba, doing my Tawaf, it's a feeling I've never felt before. Thank God.'' PILGRIMS WALKING TO GRAND MOSQUE
  • Embargoed: 18th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Quirky,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA81UMMQSE5NJB7VI0VMBG61N8N
  • Story Text: A giant clock on a skyscraper in Islam's holiest city Mecca is ticking amid hopes by Saudi Arabia it will become the Muslim world's official timekeeper.
    The Mecca Clock, which Riyadh says is the world's largest, has four faces, two of which measure 47 x 77 metres, and two measure 83 x 67 metres.
    The giant clock face can be seen from the mountains that surround Mecca and Saudi officials say Mecca Mean Time has been recognised as an official time.
    ''Certainly the timing of Mecca has become one of the global timings based within the World Centre timings such as that of Greenwich mean time and other timings. We used to say 'Mecca time' relaying only on longitude, but now this timing has become an international timing and it has been recognised within global timings,'' said the city's mayor Ossama al-Bar.
    The clock sits 600 metres high and is the world's second-tallest skyscraper and largest hotel, overlooking the city's Holy Grand Mosque, which Muslims around the world turn to five times a day for prayer.
    The clock itself was first started in 2010 but it was only in August 2011 that all works on the four faces of the clock and the tower were completed.
    Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, speaking at a ceremony held in Mecca on August 19 to announce further expansion of the Grand Mosque complex, said works on the tower and the clock were complete.
    The project is part of efforts to modernise the old city and make it more capable of catering to pilgrims. Around two million Muslims visit the city each year for the annual Haj pilgrimage, a once-in-a-lifetime requirement for able-bodied Muslims, and 3.5 million pilgrims visit Mecca at other times of the year.
    Muslim faithful from around the world flock to the city to pray and seek forgiveness during the Haj season. Algerian Mohammed is one of them, and he says the grand clock has enhanced his pilgrimage experience.
    ''Nothing pleased me more than when you hear the call to prayer and you see the clock on top and you see the lights, it's like something I've never seen before, and I have a feeling when I'm inside the Kaaba, doing my Tawaf, it's a feeling I've never felt before. Thank God,'' he said as he made his way to the Grand Mosque.
    Over 90 million pieces of coloured glass mosaic embellish the sides of the clock, which has four faces each bearing a large inscription of "Allah."
    The clock tower is the landmark feature of the seven-tower King Abdulaziz Endowment hotel complex, built by the private Saudi Bin Laden Group. Local media have said the clock tower project cost three billion U.S. dollars.
    The clock is set three hours ahead of Greenwhich Mean Time.
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