Saudi Gazette report

MAKKAH — Work continues to complete the construction of King Abdulaziz Gate, Grand Mosque's main entrance. The gate, a marvelous Islamic architectural masterpiece, will give a straight visual treat of the Holy Kaaba to the faithful. They can view Islam’s holiest shrine 300 meters away from the entrance.

Anas Sairafi, consultant for the development of designs at Jabal Omar Company and head of the real estate committee at the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that the new look of this unique and impressive architectural work was visible to viewers when more parts of the façade under construction were unveiled on Friday morning.

He said that King Abdulaziz Gate, which is the gate No. 1, is considered as the main door on the southern side of the Grand Mosque. “The gate is designed in a superb Islamic architectural way with adopting the highly advanced technology and is being constructed by using the finest material. During the construction, the site of the gate had moved to outside the periphery of its old location by about 50 meters,” he said.

According to Sairafi, the height of the entire gate is 51 meters, while the height of arches is estimated at 20 meters. The height of each one of the two minarets is 137 meters while the height of the previous minaret was 90 meters."