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
Mecca (, Kaaba). This form is used for the name Mecca in the Quran in 3:96, while the form Mecca is used in 48:24. In South Arabic, the language in use in the southern portion of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of Muhammad, the "b" and "m" were interchangeable. Other references to Mecca in the Quran (6:92, 42:5) call it "Umm al-Qurā" (), meaning "Mother of All Settlements"/"mother of villages". Another name of Mecca is "Ṫihāmah" (). Another name for Mecca, or the wilderness and mountains surrounding it, according to Arab and Islamic tradition, is Faran or Pharan, referring to