Like few cities on earth, Makkah seems to buckle under the weight of its own dramatic symbolism. It is a hallowed site revered by millions, a point of perpetual immigration, and in recent years it has begun to be recast, reworked and ultimately reconfigured.
Makkah is being given a makeover. The speed and breadth of transformation introduce dependent concerns regarding the city’s social mechanics and the on-going and symbiotic relationship between demolition and construction. Above all, it has concentrated the imaginative energy of Makkah’s inhabitants on what will remain once the work is complete.