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Al-Masart Company has started its work on a project (see picture) to build an innovative residential tower in Jeddah, Saudi-Arabia. Referred to as the Diamond tower, this twisted residential structure is one of its kind that will occupy approximately 80 floors. The Diamond Tower is expected to be 350 meters tall (1149 ft. / 85 floors) and will comprise of approximately 300 residential units; 1, 2, 3, and 4 bedroom apartments and penthouses.

Looking at this structure and the many in the Middle East in general, it is obvious that Asia is taking a very active lead in architecture and building of skyscrapers. (more…)

Over the past few hundreds of years, architects and artists have overly emphasized the elegance and architectural wonders of the western worlds while not equally highlighting the same for the Islamic architecture. However, glancing at the many architectural structures around the Muslim world as well as other non-Muslim countries, one can not ignore the magnificence of some of the buildings, mosques and palaces.  

These Islamic architectural styles have surfaced over the past hundred years that along with various facets of the Muslim culture have also captured the regional traditions of the peoples of those times when those structures were built. These structures in the form of the design of mosques, palaces, schools, market complexes and other buildings provide a glimpse of the ingenuity of Muslim architects over the past many years. We can see structures of various architectural styles from the eras of Prophet Muhammad, Abbasids, Ottomans, Mamluks and dynasties that ruled various Islamic countries, and so on.

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The number of Muslims visiting the grand mosque at Makkah has continued to grow by leaps and bounds over the hundreds and thousands of years it has been in existence. To accommodate the many who visit Makkah every year, we see that the various ruling regimes have expanded the mosque’s perimiters in all directions as well. Such expansion has been the focus of extensive planning. For example, per saudiembassy.net a few years ago the escalators installed in the mosque were designed to carry approximately 15,000 people in our hour to the roof of the mosque. Such expansion has occurred at a very high expense. Some government estimates put the dollar figures spent in one decade around $20 Billion. That expense has increased the area within the mosque to around 5 million sq. feet.

If you visit Makkah these days, you will notice numerous high rises built or still being built. The following pictures were taken from one of the high rises and reflects the enormous capacity of the grand mosque at Makkah. (more…)