…continuing with your virtual tour of the rapid changing scenes of Makkah al-Mukarramah…

…agreed…these ancient alleyways are in a state of decadence and crumbling…but such stories are concealed within the decaying bricks and mortar…

…years of pilgrims treading crowded dusty lanes…back and forth…back and forth…

…back and forth to Masjid al-Haram…haggling with traders…surviving on the simplest of meals…

…this food outlet, and the one below, were still, surprisingly, operating in this deserted quarter…

…the Jabal Omar project rises in the background…with the corner of the Hilton and then Darul Taqwa to the right…

…this used to be the main thoroughfare from Ibrahim Khalil Road to Haram…

…now reduced to a narrow precarious track lined with rubble…

…and all the recyclable items from what was once a thriving hotel…

…strangely enough, the ‘home’ of one of the regular homeless brothers is still in use…he for the moment the one constant amongst all the changes around his ‘home’…

…a ‘Magritte’ moment…

…vacant…hundreds of rooms…empty…hollow shells…

…all to the left also empty hollow shells…as work continues on the back section of one of the Abraj al-Bayt towers…

…this is a building site tucked in between hotels that are still operating in the Ajyad area…

…a massive excavation with older, functioning structures teetering along the rim of of the site…people would walk along that pathway to the right to access that central white building…these are now the cheaper options for those who cannot afford the hefty rentals for the more modern rooms…

…and the same on the left of this gaping cavern…

…amazing…what tales could this wall tell…so many fascinating patchwork additions…

…and the same for this section of patterned brick work which was a traditional style with spaces for the air to flow…

…such labourers are the heroes of all the developments…may Allah Ta’ala bless them all and their families and raise them to the highest of stations in His Garden, Ameen…

…how long before these once grand places are reduced to rubble and replaced with glamour and glitz…at rate affordable only to the rich…YA RABB YA LATEEF YA WADUD!!!!

…this is what will emerge from that huge granite pit…

…Insha’Allah, continued in next post…

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.