Sacred Ottoman porches under restoration in Mecca

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

The Ottoman porches were detached and packed by Turkish workers as part of the restoration, and are now under protection in special place.

Porches in Mecca that were built at the time of the Ottomans and have recently become an issue of controversy with the decision to restore the kaaba (the sacred building in Mecca) have been packed and rescued. Saudi King Abdullah had previously ordered the complete demolition of the Ottoman porches at the end of the pilgrimage season, but with the intervention of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the porches will be preserved.

According to daily Hürriyet, the restoration that has been initiated to widen the area is being carried out by a Turkish company, the Gürsoy Group. The porches were detached and packed by Turkish workers as part of the restoration works, and have now been taken under protection in a special area.

The porches will be rebuilt 15 meters from their original position after the restoration is completed. When the project is finished, the 50,000-person circumambulation capacity of the kabaa will be increased to 200,000, and 1.5 million people will perform prayers at the same time.