Whenever rain pours in the holy site in Makkah City, thunderstorms and lightning striking the crescent of the clock tower installed in the Kabba premise go viral on social media. Ever wondered why strong lighting strikes only the clock tower?
The Makkah clock has 800 fixed rods and 20 automatically extending lightning conductors to protect the watch and lights from lightning, so lightning only strikes the crescent moon atop the clock tower.
The rods stick atop the highest point of the clock tower and attract the lightning bolt. Once the lightning bolt strikes, the rod safely channels millions of volts of energy through copper or aluminium cables into the ground, thereby protecting the tower from the massive energy surge.
The Clock Towers formerly known as Abraj Al Bait, is a government-owned complex of seven skyscraper hotels in Islam’s holiest city Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
The Makkah Clock Tower complex includes residential buildings for long-term stayers, the Abraj Al Bait shopping centre, and a five-star hotel run by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts for the Haj pilgrims. More than a thousand parking spaces are available at the structure.
These towers are a part of the King Abdulaziz Endowment Project that aims to modernise the city by catering to its pilgrims.
It is also called ‘Makkah Clock Royal Tower’ and is the fourth-tallest building and sixth-tallest freestanding structure in the world.
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