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

Entry-Gate-of-Mecca-on-Jaddah-Makkah-Highway

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
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.

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

History

Description

See also

References

External links