Mecca from the last 1,500 years have survived Saudi rule. Expansion of the city is ongoing and includes the construction of tall Abraj Al Bait Towers across the street from the Masjid al-Haram. The towers were the third tallest building in the world when completed in 2012. The construction of the towers involved the demolition of the Ajyad Fortress, which in turn sparked a dispute between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The Zamzam Well is home to a celebrated water spring. The Qishla of Mecca was an Ottoman castle facing the Grand Mosque and defending the city from attack. However, the Saudi
Black mecca structure allows for students to cross-register at the other institutions in order to attain a broader collegiate experience. In 2011 in a "New York Times" article with the short title "Atlanta Emerges as a Black Entertainment Mecca", comedian Cedric the Entertainer, who hosted that year's Soul Train Music Awards, said Atlanta had always been a black mecca and continues to be one, with respect to the black musical talent in the city. In 2005 the "New York Times" reported that Atlanta had become a mecca for gay blacks, noting that within the African-American community in the U.S., in which being