the four faced clock, atop the abraj al bait towers in mecca, saudi arabia

a giant clock in the muslim holy city of mecca began ticking last wednesday on the first day of the fasting month of ramadan in saudi arabia. the four-faced clock project will be fully operational after a three-month trial period.

the royal clock, designed by german premiere composite technologies company, sits atop a skyscraper just 50 meters away from the grand mosque in the city. the clock was designed to be the world’s largest – six times larger than london’s big ben.

the 577-meter mecca clock royal tower also features a lunar observation center and an islamic museum. situated in the heart of the massive abraj al-bait complex  comprising hotels, shopping malls and conference centers – the clock will run on arabian standard time, three hours ahead of the universal GMT ( standard. each of the clock’s four faces are 151 feet in diameter and will be illuminated by 2 million LED lights, along with huge arabic script reading: ‘in the name of allah.’ another 21,000 white and green colored lights, fitted at the top of the clock, will flash to as far as 19 miles to signal islam’s five-times daily prayers. read more

world's biggest clock begins ticking - 2 construction of the clock – the diameter of the dial is around 40 meters photo AFP

world's biggest clock begins ticking - 3 photo AFP

world's biggest clock begins ticking - 4

world's biggest clock begins ticking - 5

world's biggest clock begins ticking - 6 initial rendering of the the abraj al bait towers in mecca with the giant clock

world's biggest clock begins ticking - 7 the height of the tower in comparison to the rest of the world’s towers