Editing Mecca (section)

====Destruction of Islamic heritage sites====
{{Main|Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia}}

[[File:Makkah_Aerial_View.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Mecca, as seen from [[Jabal al-Nour]]. [[Abraj Al Bait|Mecca Clock Tower]] is visible in the skyline.]]
Under Saudi rule, it has been estimated that since 1985, about 95% of Mecca's historic buildings, most over a thousand years old, have been demolished.<ref name="independent" /><ref name="independent.co.uk">[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-destruction-of-mecca-saudi-hardliners-are-wiping-out-their-own-heritage-501647.html 'The destruction of Mecca: Saudi hardliners are wiping out their own heritage'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119151341/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-destruction-of-mecca-saudi-hardliners-are-wiping-out-their-own-heritage-501647.html|date=19 January 2011}}, The Independent, 6 August 2005. Retrieved 17 January 2011</ref> It has been reported that there are now fewer than 20 structures remaining in Mecca that date back to the time of Muhammad. Some important buildings that have been destroyed include the house of [[Khadija bint Khuwaylid|Khadijah]], the wife of Muhammad, the house of [[Abu Bakr]], Muhammad's birthplace, and the Ottoman-era [[Ajyad Fortress]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090310011511/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/shame-of-the-house-of-saud-shadows-over-mecca-474736.html 'Shame of the House of Saud: Shadows over Mecca'], The Independent, 19 April 2006 | archived from the original on 10 March 2009</ref> The reason for much of the destruction of historic buildings has been for the construction of hotels, apartments, parking lots, and other infrastructure facilities for [[Hajj]] pilgrims.<ref name="independent.co.uk" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bsheer|first=Rosie|date=20 December 2020|title=How Saudi Arabia obliterated its rich cultural history|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/saudi-arabia-obliterated-rich-cultural-history|access-date=2022-01-17|website=Middle East Eye|language=en}}</ref>