"The site in Mecca where the Prophet Mohamed is said to have been born is about to be "buried under marble" and replaced by a huge royal palace. The work is part of a multibillion-pound construction project in the holy city which has already resulted in the destruction of hundreds of historic monuments." "According to the Gulf Institute, based in Washington, up to 95 per cent of Mecca's millennium-old buildings have been destroyed, to be replaced with luxury hotels, apartments and shopping malls."