RIYADH, Jan 10: Saudi Arabia has shrugged off a Turkish protest over demolition of the Ottoman-era Ajyad Fort in Makkah, telling Ankara not to meddle in its internal affairs.

“No one has the right to interfere in what comes under the state’s authority,” Saudi Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs said in a press statement here.

“What has been done by the kingdom is part of exercising sovereignty over its territory,” he emphasized.

Saudi authorities last week demolished the fort atop the Bulbul Hill overlooking the Grand Mosque in Makkah, paving way for the construction of 11 high rise residential towers and a twin tower hotel on the same site at a cost of six billion riyals. The project is to be completed by 2005.

The Fort is to be rebuilt exactly as it existed at another place, the press was told here. Al-Sheikh said the fort was demolished in order to level the Bulbul Hill to the ground and clear the way for the residential project.

Turkey condemned the demolition and said it had brought the issue to the attention of the United Nations cultural body, UNESCO, comparing the demolition of the fort with the destruction of the Buddha statue in Afghanistan.

A Turkish foreign ministry spokesman was quoted here as saying that Turkey had urged Saudi officials not to demolish the fort and preserve their common historical heritage.

Turkish parliament speaker Murat Sokmenoglu described the move as a sign of animosity against Turkey. In an address to parliament he alleged that the fort’s demolition was the latest attack on Turkish heritage in Saudi Arabia.

The Asistant Director of UNESCO, Mr Muneer Bashnafi, however, told the local press that the Ajyad Fort was not included on UNESCO’s list of monuments to be preserved.

He said all countries had a right to deal with any historic building or site not registered with the UNESCO.

Refuting Turkish allegations as baseless, an official of the Saudi foreign ministry was quoted here as saying that the demolition of the fortress, which is not a sacred place, concerns only the kingdom and its sovereignty.

He said the fort was constructed before the Saudi era to protect the Grand Mosque from aggressors.

The Ajyad Fort was built about 225 years ago on the highest point overlooking Makkah to defend the Holy Ka’aba against rebel attacks.

It stood atop the 150 metres high Bulbul Hill, southwest of the Haram Sharif, forming a powerful defence line with two other forts, Lala and Hindi, to the west and north.

Ghaleb bin Musaed, the Ottoman sheriff of Makkah, built Ajyad Fort in a hurry around 1775 AD. The Fort was demolished and rebuilt two years later once rebel attacks stopped.

The Fort continued to defend the Holy Ka’aba and Makkah against rebel attacks until 1923, when King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud entered the holy city. He donated the fort to the Haram Mosque as an endowment.