2007/10/16

Rebuilding Sheikha Salama Mosque

I admit, I don't read the paper every day, but this story seems to be the first mention of the rebuilding of the Sheikha Salama Mosque that I have seen.
The design and supervision contract of the project has been given to Aldar Properties, said a company spokesman, adding that the mosque would have the capacity to accommodate 3,860 people. The project is expected to be completed in 2009...

The mosque's ceiling will gradually ascend in the direction of Makkah. The natural stone cladding, granite flooring and abundant light in the structure will produce an inner space that communicates the mosque's exquisite symbolism, whilst the incorporation of lifts will give the new structure a modern aspect.

Incidentally, this is the way that the location of the mosque looked a couple of weeks ago:


Previously posted, but here are some pics of what the new mosque is apparently going to look like:



5 comments:

Mohammed UK said...

I'm quite looking forward to seeing the results. I do hope they have enough parking for over 3000 people, although most of the congregation will be on foot.

Anonymous said...

Given the location, it's most likely a majority of the worshippers will arrive on foot, from adjacent commercial areas. Still they'll need parking for anyone coming from further afield, which I'm sure they'll have.

What I like about the design is that it's modern yet retains strong traditional cues, such as the windtower-like features. It will be good to know who the architect is.

AyMoNy said...

OMG!

When did they put it down in the first place?

This is shocking as I was born and lived in Al-Ain for 24 years until I moved to Dubai 3 years back.

Just thinking about it, even though I still visit Al-Ain every now and then, I never went to the Sheikha Salama area to notice.

I'm in surprise!

Brn said...

aymony,

They started tearing the old mosque down back in April. You can see a couple of photos of it here:

http://bssandbrninalain.blogspot.com/2007/04/end-of-salama-mosque.html

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