Man atop the world's tallest clock tower

A Saudi man climbed to the top of the world’s tallest clock tower in the Gulf Kingdom and stood on the edge of the 601-metre-high structure.

A YouTube film showed the unidentified man stretched his hands as he reached the top of the giant Makkah clock tower while most of the city, Islam’s holiest shrine, was seen underneath.

The performance triggered angry reactions by the film viewers, some of whom called on Saudi authorities to identify the man and punish him.
“One viewer described it as a very dangerous and crazy adventure while another urged authorities to punish him as others could try to follow suit,” Sabq daily said.

The clock tower, nearly six times the size of London’s famous Big Ben, is topped by the world’s tallest minaret which is adorned by gold crescent and can be heard during Azan (prayers call) from as far as 17 kilometres.

Time on the 40-metre-wide clock can be seen from as far as 20 kilometres and its minaret is lit by 21,000 green and white lamps that illuminate the area surrounding the Grand Mosque to a distance of 30 kilometres.

Inaugurated in mid-2010, the clock is around 400 metres above the ground while the highest point in the minaret just above the clock is 601 metres, making it the world's second tallest building -- ahead of Taiwan's 509 metre Taipei 101, but well behind the Burj Khalifa, the 828- metre skyscraper in Dubai.

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