The Gate of Mecca, Mecca Gate or Makkah Gate ( ar, '), also known as Qur'an Gate ( ar, بوابة '), is an
arch gateway
monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...
al on the
Makkah al-Mukkarramah road of the
Jeddah–Makkah Highway. It is the entrance to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...
, the birthplace of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
and signifies the boundary of the ''
haram
''Haram'' (; ar, حَرَام, , ) is an Arabic term meaning 'Forbidden'. This may refer to either something sacred to which access is not allowed to the people who are not in a state of purity or who are not initiated into the sacred knowle ...
'' area of the city of Mecca, where non-Muslims are prohibited to enter.
History
The Gate was built in 1979. Design was done by Dia Aziz Dia, and architect was Samir Elabd.
Mecca Mayor, Osama bin Fadl al-Bar, acts as Bawabat Makkah Co. Board of Directors Chairman. Complex Bawabat Makkah consists of 5 types of currently developing projects: Governmental Projects, Special Development Projects, Investment Projects, Non-profit Projects, and Funding Projects.
Description
The gateway is built as an arch over the road, and consists of three main parts:
The main part is structure of
Islam's ''Holy Book'' –
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
, sitting on a
rehal (book stand).
[Makkah Gate](_blank)
IDEA Center Projects. Retrieved June 13, 2017.ضياء عزيز ضياء مصمم بوابة مكة المحتفي بالضوء وألعاب الطفولة
''makkahnewspaper.com''. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
Reinforced concrete was used as primary building material; plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
, glass
Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...
, wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
and other materials are also present (e.g. Islamic luminous mosaics/vitrails beneath arches, arched entrances into premises etc.). Whole structure is decorated with various patterns and can get illuminated at night in many different ways.
Under structure there are palm trees
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm ( ...
planted in line along ''divide-island'', as well as other lower tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s and ornamental bushes
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
growing on ''island'' around palms and at free land space beside four-laned parkway (divided highway). On its sides there is fine-cut boxwood
''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood.
The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
inside tidy garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
s, with shaped and perimeter fences, small parking lots and other auxiliary facilities extending into a big complex.
See also
* Dragon Gate
* Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch and Missouri's tallest accessible building. Some sources consider ...
* Jamaraat Bridge
The Jamaraat Bridge ( ar, جسر الجمرات; transliterated: ''Jisr Al-Jamarat'') is a pedestrian bridge in Mina, Saudi Arabia, near Makkah used by Muslims during the Hajj ritual Stoning of the Devil. The purpose of the bridge is to enable ...
* Masjid-u-Shajarah
The Mīqāt Dhu al-Ḥulayfah (), also known as Masjid ash-Shajarah ( ar, مَسْجِد ٱلشَّجَرَة, lit=Mosque of the Tree) or Masjid Dhu al-Hulayfah (), is a ''miqat'' and mosque in Abyār ʿAlī, Medina, west of ''Wadi al-'Aqiq'', wh ...
* Holiest sites in Islam
The holiest sites in Islam are predominantly located in Western Asia. While the significance of most places typically varies depending on the Islamic sect, there is a consensus across all mainstream branches of the religion that affirms three c ...
* Memorial gates and arches
Memorial gates and arches are architectural monuments in the form of gates and arches or other entrances, constructed as a memorial, often dedicated to a particular war though some are dedicated to individuals. The function is similar to that of ...
References
External links
*
SaudiProjects' Entry (saudiprojects.net)
Dia's official website (diafinearts.com)
Nadia Masood's description (nadiamasood.com)
{{Authority Control
1979 establishments in Saudi Arabia
1979 sculptures
Buildings and structures completed in 1979
Buildings and structures in Mecca
Arches and vaults
Monuments and memorials in Saudi Arabia
Birthplaces of individual people
Islamic holy places
Modernist architecture
Buildings and structures in Jeddah