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MECCA:A PRILIGRIMAGE CENTERD CITY

Mecca is the holiest city on earth to Muslims. Five times each day, the world's one billion Muslims, wherever they may be, turn to the Holy City of Makkah to pray. And at least once in their lives, all Muslims who are not prevented by personal circumstance perform the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Makkah. Thus each year the Holy City of Makkah is host to some two million hajjis (pilgrims) from all over the world. The most important building in Mecca is the Holy Mosque of Mecca which contains the Ka'ba, a tall box-like structure which stands in a courtyard in the centre of the mosque. The Ka'ba is pre-Islamic in origin although at the beginning of the Islamic period it became established as the main object of pilgrimages to Mecca. Other features within the Holy Mosque include the well of Zamzam and the Maqam Ibrahim.

LOCATION

Mecca is the most sacred city of Islam located in Hijaz region of western Saudi Arabia.The city lies about 70 km inland from the Red Sea port of Jeddah ie 73 km east of jiddah, in the narrow,sandy vally of Abraham.The Holy city is 277 meters(909 ft)above sea level , built in a hollow in the mountains known as Batn Mecca. .The Holy City is served by the seaport and international airport of Jiddah. SITE CHARACTRISTICS AND CLIMATE The land consists of rugged, rocky (predominantly granite) terrain, with mountain ranges on three sides (to the west, south and east). Rainfall is extremely scarce and unpredictable; in ancient times water was supplied by a series of wells, the most important of which is the well of Zamzam within the holy precinct. Despite the aridity of the area the city's position makes it prone to flash floods which are diverted by a series of dams and channels which deflect water away from the city centre. The ZamZam well then attracted more and more travelers to reside in Mecca. The city there and then developed slowly into a busy trading post.

MECCA-A BREAF HISTORY EVOLUTION OF THE CITY

5TH century CE- The first permanent settlements on the site by the Quraysh tribe. 6th century- the city appears to have become a great trading centre profiting from the caravan trade between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. In 570 the prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca, by the year 610 he had begun to preach the message revealed to him as Quran. Muhammad's teaching annoyed the prominent merchants of the town so that in 622 he was compelled to leave for the city of Medina. (This event is known as the Hejira or migration and is the starting point for the Muslim calendar.) In Medina Muhammad attracted a large following who were able to attack the Meccan caravans. By 630 Muhammad and his followers (the Muslims) had defeated Mecca and converted most of its inhabitants to Islam In the following years Medina became capital of the new Islamic state whilst Mecca retained its position as religious centre and centre of pilgrimage.

period between 680 and 692 Mecca became the capital of a rival caliphate established by Abd Allah Ibn Zubayr who controlled most of Arabia and Iraq. Abbasid period huge sums of money were spent on developing the city. In the tenth century the decline of the caliphate allowed the Qarmathians (a radical anti-establishment group) to sack Mecca and carry off the Black Stone to their base in Bahrain. The Black Stone was later returned and Mecca continued to develop as a religious centre. From the late tenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century Mecca was ruled by the Sharifs of Mecca who attempted to remain independent of the dominant powers of the time In 1929 Mecca became part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

THE CITY PLAN

The city is developed arround the Mosque.


The Holy Mosque in Makkah houses the Ka'aba, in the corner of which is set the Black Stone which marks the starting point for the seven circumambulations of the Holy Mosque which every hajji must complete.

Arround it the market developed with priligrimage apartments ,hotels,shopping fecilities etc

PRILIGRIMAGE ROUTE AND ALLAIGNMENT OF THE CI TY

The city is formed along the priligrimage paths (ie historicaly important sites-hajj routes- arround the kaba) The shape and orientation of city is along the priligrimage path. Most of the houses in Mecca are dual purpose, serving as family homes and as pilgrim hostels during the season of the Hajj.

CHANGING MECCA-FUTURE PROPOSALS

Approximately one year ago, the demolition of the built up area (above left) began. More than a thousand buildings have been demolished making way for the extension of Haram and a residential complex

Looking down towards Haram of the same area, to the left, with an artists impression of how the completed Abraj al-Bayt Towers will be.

A recent aerial view of the same area devoid of buildings.

The same photo with the addition of explanatory coloured areas defining the current projects. The green dot marks the Mubarak place where Prophet was born Lime green: Jabal Omar project. Pink: The existing Royal Palace complex which is destined to be moved. Red: Al-Khandamah development which will be another major hotel area. Blue: Part of the recently acquired land from the massive demolition to be incorporated into the Haram proper. (see model below) Yellow: The area of the Shamia pilgrim hotel accommodation project.

Various companies submit proposals for all of the potential projects. Some of these plans appear on the net, but are not necessarily the ones accepted. The following images are proposals for the Shamia area. (yellow in above diagram)

The decision to cover the Mataf area with shade tents has been approved. This is a model for the expansion of Haram, the top segment being the new extension. (blue area in explanatory diagram)

Model of the Jabal Omar project

Construction is under way on the first high-speed passenger railway line between Makkah and Madinah and is expected to be complete by January 2014. The 480km railway line, constructed specifically for high-speed electric trains.

CHANGING STYLES AND FUTURE OF THE CITY

Future development in the Muslim sacred city of Mecca will be more in tune with traditional architecture, the mayor says, but for now residents worry that Islams holiest sites are disappearing behind skyscrapers. Within six years, the government hopes to reinforce the infrastructure surrounding Meccas Grand Mosque, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba towards which Muslims the world over turn in prayer, replacing congested narrow roads with new ones, installing foot bridges for pedestrians and a four-line metro. The clock tower of the King Abdulaziz Endowment, which is visible for miles around and stands next to the Grand Mosque, is not nice is that the outside design is not traditionally Arabic.What they created looks like the buildings in Australia, it does not give a feel of Arabs and Mecca. Most of the apartments coming arround mecca is very expensive and luxury, it is not matching with the cocept of simplsity and uniformity of hajj.

DESTRUCTION OF HERITAGE FOR ECONOMIC GAIN Saudi has also been criticized in the past for purposely destroying important historical sites, even Islamic ones, out of fear that they would encourage polytheism and idolatry. In fact, an Ottoman fortress and the hill on which it stood was bulldozed to accommodate the gaudy clocktower building. Consideration of the ecology, cultural and architectural heritage seems to be low on the agenda but it hasnt always been that way. In the past more care was taken when contributing to Meccas architecture, for example in the 1970, the German architect Frei Otto took inspiration from the nomadic Bedouin tribes when he design the remarkable tent cities. Made of collapsible lightweight structures, these tents protected pilgrims from rain and heat whilst limiting the damage to the delicate ecology of the hills that surround the old city. This careful consideration seems to have been abandoned for economic gain at the expense of the egalitarian spirit of hajj and also its architectural legacy. The commercial sphere has well and truly invaded mecca. As Mr. Angawi says, We dont want to bring New York to Mecca. The hajj was always supposed to be a time when everyone is the same. There are no classes, no nationalities. It is the one place where we find balance. You are supposed to leave worldly things behind you.

MECCA SEEKS 'GREEN HAJJ'

The Hajj generates mounds of unrecycled The Hajj is said to be the largest annual gathering rubbish of people in the world. Mecca during the Hajj may have become one of the most polluted cities in the world. According to environmentalists, the presence of such a mass of humanity in one place for several days contributes to climate change. All the waste from food, all the fumes from coaches and cars travelling around the city, all the energy used for powering hotels have a damaging environmental impact. 'Sustainable Mecca-Mecca officials face the daunting challenge of how to encourage and enable the three million pilgrims to perform a "green Hajj". They invited international bidders to build a gigantic solar power station, which will be used in illuminating mosques, hotels, streets and tunnels across Mecca. an underground system was being planned to serve the entire city, with 120km (75 miles) of track and up to 28 stations. The system will help solve the chronic problem of traffic congestion in Mecca during the Hajj.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Imperatives of Urban And Regional Planning Concepts and Case Studies ... - Anis Ur Rahmaan - Google Books_files The Blessed Cities of Islam Mecca-Medina Mecca-Medina - mer Faruk Aksoy, Omer Frank Aksoy - Google Books The Imperatives of Urban And Regional Planning Concepts and Case Studies ... - Anis Ur Rahmaan - Google Books www.architecture-studio./29.12.2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/29.12.20012 http://geography.about.com/30.12.2012 http://www.slideshare.net/30.12.2012 http://almiskeenah.com/30.12.2012

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