Monday, January 04, 2010

Closer to heaven?

Love the new tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai has clinched it at a breathtaking 828 meters, the previous record holder in Taipei was a mere 508 meters. The building looks stunning, a glass and steel monument to what modern engineering techniques, materials, design and about a billion dollars can achieve. An interesting side note is that several "tallest" buildings in the past have been opened in recessions, i.e. the Empire State in the great depression and the Petronas towers during the 1990s Asian financial crisis, perhaps its a good indicator of when to sell, i.e. as engineers start putting up the scaffolding for these record breaking buildings and then buy again once they are opened?



The building boasts 160 floors and half a million square meters of space; the highest inhabited space and the highest swimming pool and of course the highest mosque. I suppose if the plot of that great 70s movie Towering Inferno came true and the water from the pool didn't extinguish the flames then you could always undergo a quick conversion just before kissing your butt goodbye, very handy!

For those who don't get vertigo here is a little video from the scaffolding at the very top, gulp, just don't look down..

4 comments:

Chairman Bill said...

Look at No.2 from the quote below:


One day while the Prophet was sitting in the company of some people, (The angel) Gabriel came and asked, "What is faith?" Allah's Apostle replied, 'Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, (the) meeting with Him, His Apostles, and to believe in Resurrection." Then he further asked, "What is Islam?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah Alone and none else, to offer prayers perfectly to pay the compulsory charity (Zakat) and to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan." Then he further asked, "What is Ihsan (perfection)?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you." Then he further asked, "When will the Hour be established?" Allah's Apostle replied, "The answerer has no better knowledge than the questioner. But I will inform you about its portents.

1. When a slave (lady) gives birth to her master.
2. When the shepherds of black camels start boasting and competing with others in the construction of higher buildings. And the Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah.

The Prophet then recited: "Verily, with Allah (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour--." (31. 34) Then that angel (Gabriel) left and the Prophet asked his companions to call him back, but they could not see him. Then the Prophet said, "That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion." Abu 'Abdullah said: He (the Prophet) considered all that as a part of faith. Sahih al-Bukhari 1:2:47

Steve Borthwick said...

CB, spooky, maybe they put a mosque on the 124th floor so that some of the more "enthusiastic" lads over there don't fly things into it?

I wonder why Gabriel only mentioned Camels? you would of thought that an all knowing omnipotent God would have said something like "Camels for people in the Middle East, Llamas for those in South America, Bison for North Americans, Cattle for the Africans" etc....

Oh yes that's right, it was written by desert people for desert people who thought that every animal lived within walking distance of Noah's house.. :)

Archdruid Eileen said...

The evidence from Iraq is that if you've a different form of Islam you won't worry about destroying a mosque.
It's a shame there's not a church on the floor above the swimming pool - with a trapdoor in the floor you could have instant baptisms.

Steve Borthwick said...

Archdruid, LOL, you're onto something there! (I know what you mean about Iraq, coincidentally I posted about that yesterday)