Saudi Arabia will test what it is billing as the world’s largest clock in the holy city of Mecca during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan which started few days ago. The four-faced clock pylon will top a colossal skyscraper that when completed will be around 1,970 feet (600 meters) tall, trailing only behind the tallest in the world, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa (formerly known as Burj Dubai) which sits at 2,717 feet (828 meters).

On completion, the clock will dwarf London’s Big Ben, once the largest four-faced clock in the world, with dials more than five times greater in area. The 130-foot (40 meter) diameter Saudi clock dials are also bigger than the current world champion at the Cevahir Mall clock in Istanbul, which has a 36 meter face set in the transparent roof of the shopping complex.

The complex overlooks Mecca’s famed Grand Mosque, which Muslims worldwide face during their five daily prayers and is part of Saudi’s effort to develop the city into a tourist destination, which is visited by millions of pilgrims yearly.

A three-month test run for the clock will start during the first week of Ramadan – the month-long period of prayer, reflection and sunrise-to-sunset fasting. Thus far, only one of the clock’s four faces has been completed and is covered with 98 million pieces of glass mosaics. Each face will be inscribed with “God is greatest”, scribbled in Arabic and fitted with thousands of colored lights. The clock will be visible from more than 16 miles (25 kilometers).

A huge golden crescent moon, 75 feet (23 meters) in diameter, will ultimately rise above the clock on a 200 foot (61 meter) spire, from which some 15 beams will shoot up into the sky, the agency added. The entire clock, from the base up to the crescent, itself will be 820 feet (251 meters) high.

German and Swiss engineers designed the clock and according to the Ministry of Religious Endowments, the entire project will cost $800 million.

SOURCE via Foxnews