Pilgrims entering and exiting the Masjid Al Haram or the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Photographer: Iman Al-Dabbagh/BloombergMBS’s $100 Billion Quest Shored Up by Mecca Boom as Neom Slows
Saudi Arabia is opening up the Mecca real estate market as it faces lower oil prices and pivots away from parts of mega projects like Neom
The throngs of pilgrims walking through the ancient city of Mecca these days pass a promenade with cranes whirring on either side. Rows of old red-brick houses, winding alleys and courtyards have been bulldozed to make way for luxury towers springing up in a pathway that eventually leads to the Grand Mosque.
In a nearby office lined with leather-bound books on Mecca’s history, Yasser Abu Ateek struggles to keep up with a sudden influx of international investors as the holy city, among the world’s most sought-after property markets, opens up to foreign buyers.