In the Grand Mosque of Mecca, is an elegant, Ottoman portico from the 17th century. In the latest development plan developed for the city of Mecca by Saudi authorities, the portico has been ordered destroyed. Its demolition, a familiar sight in Mecca, would have proceeded unnoticed, were it not for an objection raised by a Saudi historian based in the United Kingdom who raised his voice against what he saw was an ordered evisceration of Meccan history.

Read More: Heritage, Pilgrimage and the War on History