Al Bidya Mosque is the oldest mosque in the UAE and was built-in 1446 or in 1599. The exact date is not exactly known. The Bidya mosque was built during the Ottoman era, and it reflects the Islamic architecture of that period. The mosque was placed on a very small area of seven square metres. It has four cone-like domes but without any minarets.
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The amazing feature of the mosque is the roof. It was built with four domes on one column without wooden bars. Neither iron, steel or wood was used in the construction. There are also several small ornate windows and built in sections in the walls to keep the Holy Quran. The mosque is accessible to the public and people can still pray in it.
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The Falaj Al Mualla Fort Mosque, built-in 1800 is attached to the Fort Falaj Al Mualla in Umm al Quwain. It consists of a large square to pray and the niche was built of stone and clay.
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Prayer area at the Falaj Al Mualla fort mosque in Umm Al Quwain.
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The entrance to the Falaj Al Mualla Fort Mosque in Umm al Quwain.
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Bin Sultan mosque, built in 1815 at Masfout, Ajman. Bin Sultan Mosque is the oldest mosque in Ajman and an historic hidden gem in the enclave of Masfout.
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Bin Sultan Mosque is made from clay and plaster, with a canopy of date palm leaves woven together to form the roof. Like many traditional Emirati structures, it was built using locally available materials.
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Sheikh Mohammed bin Salem Al Qasimi Mosque, the oldest mosque in Ras al Khaimah built-in 1819. The mosque is right opposite to the beachside of Ras Al Khaimah, which is also known as old corniche of Ras Al Khaimah. Built from coral stone and beach rock, the mosque features 60 internal columns and an impressive mangrove wood ceiling and sits on the foundations of an earlier 18th-century mosque that was destroyed during the British occupation of Ras Al Khaimah in 1819/20.
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Bur Dubai Grand Mosque, built in 1850 and then rebuilt in 1952 and 1999 in the style of the original Grand Mosque, is the oldest in Dubai.
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Al Jahili mosque in Al Ain built in 1891. The historic mosque consists of a single room with an open arcade on the east side entered from an enclosed courtyard. It is a historic building constructed with earth blocks and palm log beams and probably dates back to the foundation of the fort in the 1890s.
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Zain Bin Thabit Mosque, built in 1950 is now one of the oldest mosques in Sharjah. Built with coral and mud pulled from the sea and fortified with palm fronds, the 493 square metre mosque was one of the largest of its time.
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Jumeirah Mosque built in 1979 on Jumeirah beach road in Dubai. Also known as ‘the two minaret mosque,' it is featured on the Dh500 note and was built under the patronage of Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Jumeirah Mosque stands apart from the rest of the mosques in the neighbourhood due to its distinctive architecture that is based on the Fatimid style, and can accommodate up to 1,300 people. It is only one of three mosques in the UAE open to non-Muslims.
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Diwan mosque in (Bastakiya) Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood in Bur Dubai. This mosque sits in the middle of Bastakiya and is known for its distinct flat dome.
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King Faisal Mosque, named after Saudi Arabia's former King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz, is the largest of Sharjah's mosques. Opened in 1987, it covers 12,000 square metres and can accommodate 12,000 worshippers in its prayer hall.
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The mosque's enormous central prayer hall along with its upper wings can accommodate 17,000 worshippers with the hall alone accommodating 12,000 people.
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With its multitude of columns and a central courtyard, the multi-storey mosque is a departure from the traditional Islamic architecture in more than one way.
Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News
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