| Saudi Arabia hit back at Turkish protests over the demolition of an Ottoman-era fort in Makkah, telling Ankara not to meddle in its internal affairs and saying the fort would be rebuilt in due course. "The Kingdom was only exercising its sovereignty over its territory," Minister of Islamic Affairs and Endowments Saleh Al-Sheikh said. "No one has the right to interfere in what comes under the state’s authority." The Ajyad fort will be rebuilt by experts in the same traditional way it was first built and at the same site, albeit not on the Bulbul Hill, Al-Sheikh said. And they complain about arrogant Westerners? And how does one rebuild an ancient fortress that's been demolished? One might build it anew, in the same style, but then it won't be "ancient." It will be "new." |