Erasing the Ottoman past from Mecca
rick murphy
I only remember Lawrence of Arabia and how Arabs (brother of Turks in
Islam) cooperated with the victors of WWI and raped, tortured and
massacred Turkish subjects of Ottoman empire and forced them out if
their homes and countries in order to topple Ottoman empire (their
brother Khalif in Islam) when I see Arabs and their Islamic places. I
met quite a few Arabs from almost all Arab countries including Saudi
Arabia. They were all heavy drinkers, womanizers, gambellers and
everything else their relogion Islam forbids and they obey. I met a
buch of Arab businessmen, very professionally dressed and respectful
looking some from Egypt some from Saudi Arabia, for instance in O'Hare
airport, Chicago IL, USA and elsewhere bargining the price of
prostitutes they were going to hire with a pimp. They use their
religion Islam as a tool to oppress people, nothing else.
+++++++++++++
Times of change: Erasing the Ottomans from Mecca
Friday, December 4, 2009
GÜL DEMİR - NİKİ GAMM
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
The 350-year-old portico designed by legendary Ottoman architect Mimar
Sinan for the Sacred Mosque is to be torn down now that the pilgrims
have left. And with its demolition Mecca’s last traces of Ottoman
architecture will be dust in the desert wind
Now that the Kurban Bayram holiday and the time of the Hajj pilgrimage
have ended, Islam’s holy city of Mecca can return to normal. But with
the number of pilgrims estimated to rise to 10 million in the coming
years, Saudis have been working hard non-stop for years to prepare for
them.
This year approximately 2.5 million pilgrims converged on the Saudi
Arabian city that for centuries has been the focal point of Muslim
believers who gather to partake in the pilgrimage at least once in
their lifetime provided they can afford it and are in good enough
health.
How the city prepares for its visitors, however, is a question that
some experts say has not been addressed appropriately, especially
regarding ancient Islamic architecture and Ottoman heritage.
According to reports during this year’s Hajj, now that the pilgrims
have left, the portico around the Kaabah, designed by legendary
Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan in the late 1500s, is to be torn down.
Dr. Sami Angawi, head of the Amar Center for Architectural Heritage in
Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, is an expert on the region's Islamic
architecture. He said he acknowledges that the Saudis have the right
to provide modern cities for their citizens, but also noted that many
buildings from early Islamic history are being demolished and replaced
with high-rise buildings. Angawi said he calculated that over 300
historical buildings in Mecca and Medina have already been destroyed.
Also, the Washington-based Gulf Institute has estimated that, in the
past two decades, 95 percent of the millennium-old buildings in Mecca
have been demolished.
Furthermore, the British-based Gensler architectural firm disclosed
during the Hajj that is has plans to redevelop one square kilometer in
the historic southern area known as Darb Al-Khalil. When completed,
however, the area will include residences, hotels and amenities for
pilgrims and will allow easy movement from the area to the Mosque Al-
Haram, or Sacred Mosque.
Admittedly, the Saudis have the right to ensure that the annual
pilgrimage occurs as safely as possible, so it is not surprising they
are bent on making changes. For example, the ramp that leads to the
area where the pilgrims “throw stones at the devil” at times was where
hundreds could be killed when crowds rushed forward to complete this
portion of the pilgrimage. Today, however, the ramp system has been
changed and can hold 3 million people and has capacity for as many as
5 million.
They also expanded the Mosque Al-Haram in the center of the city, and
where there were once hundreds of houses, they have now been replaced
with wide avenues and city squares.
The Ottoman fortress that looked over the Kaabah for two centuries has
already been razed to make room for the Abraj Al Bait Towers, which
are supposed to be finished in 2010. This move provoked anger among
Turks who viewed the fortress as part of Ottoman heritage. The towers,
however, will have a prayer hall capable of holding 10,000
worshippers, a seven-star hotel, a shopping mall, residential housing
and a parking lot. All told, the entire structure will be capable of
housing up to 100,000 people.
Mecca has gone through many rejuvenations before. One example is in
the late 1500s, when Ottoman Sultan Suleyman had Mimar Sinan design
plans that included widening the courtyard and building porticoes. The
plan was carried out in 1590 by Mimar Mehmed Ağa. Sultan Selim II, in
1571, ordered Mimar Sinan to renovate the mosque and replaced the
prayer hall’s roof with domes and reinforced it with new columns. The
portico plan was deferred to a later date. In 1629, excessive rain
damage led to the restoration of the mosque and the Kaabah.
But with demolition of the portico, the last traces of Ottoman
architecture will be erased from Mecca.
The Saudi way
In 1924, Mecca became a part of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The
Saudis espoused Wahhabism, a puritanical form of Islam that rejects
many of the practices attached to Islam. In particular, certain
locations in and around Mecca and Medina that were connected to the
Prophet had virtually been turned into shrines. The Saudis viewed this
as sacrilegious and moved to eliminate them.
Furthermore, certain buildings from the Ottoman period were made
sacred because they were historical. The Saudis, however, saw these
new traditions to be expendable because the kingdom was facing a
growing numbers of pilgrims.
Mecca history
The foundation of the city dates back to 2000 B.C. and flourished when
it became a center of north-south trade routes. Little is known about
the city’s early years but some of its history can be found in the
Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul where pre-Islamic artifacts
are displayed.
For Muslims, Mecca became important as the center of the Prophet
Mohammed’s activities in the 7th century and the city from which Islam
spread throughout the Middle East, Africa and Asia by military
conquest and trade.
Ottomans take responsibility
In the early 1500s, Sultan Selim I conquered Egypt and from then on
Ottomans provided the main caravan to Mecca for the Hajj and for
centuries held responsibility for the upkeep of the Kaabah and
surrounding mosque and town. Ottoman control over Mecca meant that
with the exception of brigands, caravans were not raided. More people
could travel safely. Fortresses and caravanasaries were built along
the roads for accommodation as well as wells for drinking water.
In Mecca, the legendary Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan designed the
facilities around the Kaabah including the domed portico that
currently encircles the enclosure. The large Kışla Fortress of Mecca
was built overlooking the Kaabah and constructed in the 18th century
for defense purposes. Also, efforts to safely organize large numbers
of pilgrims to certain locations were carried out.
Momentum of change
In the 16th century, no one would have thought that millions of people
would flock to the religious sanctuary centuries later. Since then
hostels, hans, government buildings and private houses were built,
railroad lines expanded, improvements in passenger ships and ferries
and finally cars and airplanes contributed to an ever-increasing
number of people participating in the pilgrimage.
As is the case everywhere in the world, without more attention to
development, it appears the massive influx of people will outweigh the
momentum of history.
Al Nakba
> I only remember Lawrence of Arabia and how Arabs (brother of Turks in
> Islam) cooperated with the victors of WWI and raped, tortured and
> massacred Turkish subjects of Ottoman empire and forced them out if
> their homes and countries in order to topple Ottoman empire (their
> brother Khalif in Islam) when I see Arabs and their Islamic places. I
> met quite a few Arabs from almost all Arab countries including Saudi
> Arabia. They were all heavy drinkers, womanizers, gambellers and
> everything else their relogion Islam forbids and they obey. I met a
> buch of Arab businessmen, very professionally dressed and respectful
> looking some from Egypt some from Saudi Arabia, for instance in O'Hare
> airport, Chicago IL, USA and elsewhere bargining the price of
> prostitutes they were going to hire with a pimp. They use their
> religion Islam as a tool to oppress people, nothing else.
>
> +++++++++++++
>
the Turks are the only ones who could make the savage ragheads behave,
and they did so for a few hundred years. the brits were to soft on the
ayrabs..