Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s project for the development of historical mosques extended in its second phase to include the Al-Azm Mosque in Al-Ula Governorate in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, which dates back to the era of the Prophethood, as it is likely that the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, determined his qiblah with bones, during his way to the Battle of Tabuk in the ninth year. For immigration, as the reason for its name is due to this story, so that the project preserves the history of this mosque and its Islamic heritage, which dates back to more than 14 centuries, and provides ways to take care of it.
Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s project for the development of historical mosques will renovate the Al-Azm Mosque in the traditional style of Medina, on an area of 773.34 square meters, and at a capacity sufficient for 580 worshipers, as the project will rebuild it using natural materials of clay, stones and wood of local trees. with mud, and the mosque’s architecture has gone through several stages, up to our present time.
The construction of the mosque is distinguished by its evolving architecture that is able to adapt to the climatic and natural data, and it uses cut stones in their various formations and sizes and built with clay mortar, in addition to employing palm components in the construction of roofs as a load-bearing and insulating layer, as the project will work on employing these materials and developing the facades in the mosque.
The Prince Mohammed bin Salman project for the development of historical mosques works to achieve a balance between ancient and modern construction standards in a way that gives the components of mosques an appropriate degree of sustainability, and integrates the effects of development with a set of heritage and historical characteristics, while the process of developing them is being carried out by Saudi companies specialized in heritage buildings and with experience. in its field.
The Al-Azem Mosque comes as part of Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s project to develop historical mosques in its second phase, which included 30 mosques in all 13 regions of the Kingdom, six mosques in the Riyadh region, five mosques in the Makkah Al-Mukarramah region, four mosques in the Medina region, and three mosques in Asir region, and two mosques in the eastern region, and the same in each of Al-Jawf and Jazan, and one mosque in each of the northern borders, Tabuk, Al-Baha, Najran, Hail, and Al-Qassim.
It is noteworthy that the launch of the second phase of the Historic Mosques Development Project came after the completion of the first phase, which included the rehabilitation and restoration of 30 historical mosques in 10 regions.
The project stems from four strategic objectives, summarized by rehabilitating historical mosques for worship and prayer, restoring the architectural authenticity of historical mosques, highlighting the civilizational dimension of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, strengthening the religious and cultural status of historical mosques, and contributing to highlighting the cultural and civilizational dimension of the Kingdom that Vision 2030 focuses on by preserving the characteristics Authentic urbanism and its use in developing the design of modern mosques.
Okaz (Riyadh) @Okaz_online