{"id":4125,"date":"2023-02-19T16:25:36","date_gmt":"2023-02-19T16:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=4125"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:41:09","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:41:09","slug":"muhammad-bin-salmans-new-kaaba-in-riyadh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/politics\/muhammad-bin-salmans-new-kaaba-in-riyadh\/2023\/02\/19\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Muhammad bin Salman’s New Kaaba in Riyadh"},"content":{"rendered":"

Riyadh (AsiaNews\/Agencies) \u2013The<\/span> Saudi<\/span> crown<\/span> prince<\/span> has<\/span> unveiled<\/span> designs<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> capital’s<\/span> new<\/span> urban<\/span> center,<\/span> Mukab.<\/span> The<\/span> huge<\/span> cube,<\/span> 400<\/span> meters<\/span> high,<\/span> wide<\/span> and<\/span> deep,<\/span> embodies<\/span> his<\/span> “Vision<\/span> 2030″<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> modernization<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> country.<\/span> No<\/span> formal<\/span> reference<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> sacred<\/span> building<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> center<\/span> of<\/span> Mecca<\/span> escapes<\/span> him.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>\u00a0A<\/span> giant<\/span> cube<\/span> measuring<\/span> 400<\/span> meters<\/span> high,<\/span> wide<\/span> and<\/span> deep.<\/span> The<\/span> new<\/span> center<\/span> of<\/span> Riyadh,<\/span> which<\/span> will<\/span> not<\/span> only<\/span> house<\/span> hundreds<\/span> of<\/span> thousands<\/span> of<\/span> residents<\/span> but<\/span> also<\/span> offer<\/span> luxury<\/span> hotels,<\/span> museums<\/span> and<\/span> entertainment<\/span> venues,<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> vision<\/span> of<\/span> Crown<\/span> Prince<\/span> Mohammed<\/span> bin<\/span> Salman’s<\/span> philosophy<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> ‘new<\/span> Saudi<\/span> Arabia’.<\/span> 2030″<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> a<\/span> symbol.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>This<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> physiognomy<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Saudi<\/span> capital’s<\/span> new<\/span> urban<\/span> center,<\/span> the<\/span> ‘Mukab’<\/span> (cube),<\/span> which<\/span> Riyadh’s<\/span> heir<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> throne<\/span> recently<\/span> launched<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> big<\/span> way<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> usual<\/span> series<\/span> of<\/span> futuristic<\/span> renderings<\/span> and<\/span> videos.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Mukaab<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> ideal<\/span> continuation<\/span> of<\/span> Neom,<\/span> the<\/span> city<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> Saudis<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> building<\/span> from<\/span> scratch<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> north<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> country<\/span> for<\/span> some<\/span> years<\/span> now,<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> ambition<\/span> of<\/span> making<\/span> it<\/span> an<\/span> international<\/span> magnet<\/span> alternative<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> big<\/span> Gulf<\/span> metropolises.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> very<\/span> long<\/span> strip<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> sea<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> desert,<\/span> destined<\/span> to<\/span> accommodate<\/span> 9<\/span> million<\/span> people,<\/span> but<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> expense<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Bedouins:<\/span>
\n<\/span>still<\/span> these<\/span> days<\/span> at<\/span> least<\/span> 47<\/span> members<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Howeitat<\/span> tribe<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> imprisoned<\/span> or<\/span> detained<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> Saudi<\/span> authorities<\/span> for<\/span> resisting<\/span> the<\/span> land<\/span> expropriation<\/span> measure.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Now-as<\/span> work<\/span> continues<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> Neom<\/span> construction<\/span> sites-Mohammed<\/span> bin<\/span> Salman<\/span> thus<\/span> unveils<\/span> the<\/span> complementary<\/span> design<\/span> of<\/span> Riyadh’s<\/span> new<\/span> center.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>And<\/span> it<\/span> cannot<\/span> escape<\/span> the<\/span> fact<\/span> that<\/span> for<\/span> this<\/span> project<\/span> that<\/span> will<\/span> touch<\/span> the<\/span> lives<\/span> of<\/span> Saudis<\/span> much<\/span> more<\/span> closely,<\/span> the<\/span> chosen<\/span> imagery<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> giant<\/span> cube,<\/span> that<\/span> is,<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> geometric<\/span> structure<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> Kaaba,<\/span> the<\/span> black<\/span> building<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> center<\/span> of<\/span> Mecca<\/span> around<\/span> which<\/span> Muslim<\/span> pilgrims<\/span> converge.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Not<\/span> a<\/span> few<\/span> Arabs<\/span> are<\/span> already<\/span> pointing<\/span> this<\/span> out<\/span> on<\/span> social<\/span> media,<\/span> ironizing<\/span> about<\/span> Mohammad<\/span> bin<\/span> Salman’s<\/span> “new<\/span> Kaaba,”<\/span> which<\/span> is<\/span> much<\/span> more<\/span> devoted<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> canons<\/span> of<\/span> global<\/span> economics<\/span> than<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> rigor<\/span> of<\/span> Wahhabi<\/span> Islam.<\/span> The<\/span> new<\/span> center<\/span> in<\/span> Riyadh<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> built<\/span> on<\/span> a<\/span> 19-square-kilometer<\/span> site,<\/span> a<\/span> 20-minute<\/span> drive<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> airport,<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> intersection<\/span> of<\/span> King<\/span> Salman<\/span> and<\/span> King<\/span> Khalid<\/span> Roads<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> northwest<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> city,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> announcement.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> project<\/span> will<\/span> provide<\/span> over<\/span> 25<\/span> million<\/span> square<\/span> meters<\/span> of<\/span> floor<\/span> space<\/span> with<\/span> over<\/span> 104,000<\/span> residential<\/span> units,<\/span> over<\/span> 9,000<\/span> hotel<\/span> rooms,<\/span> over<\/span> 980,000<\/span> square<\/span> meters<\/span> of<\/span> retail<\/span> space,<\/span> 1.4<\/span> million<\/span> square<\/span> meters<\/span> of<\/span> office<\/span> space,<\/span> and<\/span> 620,000<\/span> square<\/span> meters<\/span> of<\/span> leisure<\/span> activities.<\/span> .<\/span> 1.8<\/span> million<\/span> square<\/span> meters<\/span> of<\/span> space<\/span> for<\/span> community<\/span> facilities.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>According<\/span> to<\/span> Muhammad<\/span> bin<\/span> Salmad’s<\/span> plans,<\/span> work<\/span> on<\/span> Riyadh’s<\/span> Muqab<\/span> should<\/span> also<\/span> be<\/span> completed<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> fateful<\/span> year<\/span> 2030.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Riyadh (AsiaNews\/Agencies) \u2013The Saudi crown prince has unveiled designs for the capital’s new urban center, Mukab. The huge cube, 400 meters high, wide and deep, embodies his “Vision 2030″ for the modernization of the country. No formal reference to the sacred building in the center of Mecca escapes him. \u00a0A giant cube measuring 400 meters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[280,562,2459],"tags":[306,1141,1142,1143,1144,1145],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/kaba.png","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4125"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4125"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4128,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4125\/revisions\/4128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}