On the coast of Al Bidya, 30km north of Fujairah's centre, the oldest mosque in the UAE continues to welcome worshippers for prayer.
Al Bidya Mosque, also known as the Ottoman Mosque, dates back to roughly 1446 and sits on a hillside in front of a Portuguese fort, built more than 400 years ago.
While most ancient sites in the UAE have been discovered through archaeological efforts, this historic site has remained in regular use. For a time, the residents of the nearby villages such as Al Fai, Al Jubail, Haqeel, Twai bin Saada, Al Hara and Al Telae all attended Friday prayers at the same time.
It’s a simple structure, not ornately adorned but made of local stone, mud brick, hay and coated with whitewashed plaster.
Four domes, unequal in size, are huddled close to one another, giving the mosque its unique appearance. They were built in ascending disk-like layers with multiple domes one on top of the other. One forms the base while two smaller domes are crowned with an even smaller one.
The four domes are supported by one central pillar, which forms the foundation of the structure in a unique engineering technique. The pillar also makes up the main feature of the interior. While the structure is square (6.8 x 6.8 metres), it’s an irregular shape and, given the soft curved edges of the build, is slightly squat in appearance.
Perhaps Al Bidya Mosque's most noticeable characteristic is that it has no minaret, which is unusual for a mosque. Inside, it's also plainly designed with decorative dentate carvings and small openings to allow for light and air to enter. Some niches have been carved into the walls to place lighting lamps.
The mihrab in the mosque – a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of Makkah (qibla), which Muslims face while praying – is 180cm high and 90cm wide. It’s square and consists of three doorstep stairs.
Despite its historical importance in the UAE, the story of Al Bidya Mosque is shrouded in mystery. It’s unclear who built it and when precisely. An investigation by the Fujairah Archaeological Centre and the University of Sydney around 1997 estimated it may have been built in 1446, along with two nearby watchtowers.
However, since the structure doesn't contain wood, making carbon dating impossible, the date of origin is debatable.
One thing known for sure is that the Portuguese who built the fort behind around the 16th century included drawings of the mosque in documents.
While it is a rarity in age and design in the UAE, there are similar mosques in the region constructed approximately at the same time in Oman, Qatar and Yemen.
There are stylistic differences, however, about the number of domes. While Al Bidya Mosque has four, others have between seven and 12. But they have more in common than not, as they share the same ascending design as well as a central pillar. Al Bidya Mosque continues to host daily prayers and is also informally open to tourists, with tours available on request.
