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A historical tale of two mosques

Centuries-old mosques hosting daily prayers are a major tourist attraction.

Ever wondered about the mosque which adorns your Dh5 note? Called Salem Al Mutawa, it is one of the two oldest mosques in the UAE and lies west to the city of Khor Fakkan. The other mosque — believed to be the oldest in the UAE — called Al Bidaya dates back to 1446 and is located in a small village in Fujairah.

The Salem Al Mutawa Mosque lies west of Khor Fakkan.

The Salem Al Mutawa Mosque, which was formerly known as Al Gharb (West) Mosque, was picked by the UAE Government as a design to the Dh5 note, much to the pride of the people of Khor Fakkan. The move had prompted the natives in the locality to renovate the mosque.

Located just 20 metres from the sea, Salem Al Mutawa Mosque was originally made from stones and date palm stems. The water well dug then is still functional despite the rise in salinity levels in ground water.

Al Bidaya Mosque

Located about 50km from the region centre in Fujairah, the 570-sqft Al Bidaya Mosque was built from materials readily available in the area, primarily stones of various sizes and mud bricks coated in many layers of whitewashed plaster. The roof has four squat, helical domes that are supported by one centrally placed pillar. One enters the mosque through double-winged wooden doors.

Al Bidaya Mosque, dating back to 1446, is located in a Fujairah village.

The prayer hall has a small mihrab (the niche in the wall that indicates the direction of the Qiblah), a simple pulpit, arches and openings. A central pillar divides the internal space into four squares of similar dimensions. The pillar supports all four domes that can be seen from the exterior.

Inside the prayer hall, a number of small decorative windows allow light and air to stream into the mosque. There are also cube-shaped spaces carved into the thick walls where copies of the Quran and other religious books are stored.

The centuries-old mosque continues to host daily prayers and is a major tourist attraction in Fujairah. It has been renovated as a tourist landmark in collaboration with the Historical Buildings section at the Dubai Municpality. People throng the mosque irrespective of their religion or nationality because of its unique shape. The mosque is named after the village it is located in.

Says Dr Faleh Handhal, a researcher in the history and heritage of the UAE: “The village is one of the biggest in the emirate of Fujairah and there are other villages around Al Bidaya — Al Jibail, Haqbal, Al Fai and Al Hara. The mosque was (earlier) known as Ottoman mosque due to its architectural design, and there are similar mosques in the Sultanate of Oman and Qatar.”

Researcher Nasser Hussein Al Aboodi wrote about the building materials of the mosque and analysed the building’s shape and spiral domes. “The mosque was built with only one dome on its roof, which now lies above the Minbar and Mihrab (the north-western side of the mosque). It is the original dome and the biggest and the tallest. The other domes were added to the structure later.”

malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com