1,300-year-old mosque to be renovated under Prince Mohammed bin Salman project

Built in the 670s, the Al-Safa historical mosque will be repaired under the second phase of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project for the Development of Historical Mosques. (SPA)
Built in the 670s, the Al-Safa historical mosque will be repaired under the second phase of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project for the Development of Historical Mosques. (SPA)
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Updated 28 March 2023

1,300-year-old mosque to be renovated under Prince Mohammed bin Salman project

1,300-year-old mosque to be renovated under Prince Mohammed bin Salman project
  • Located in the Baljurashi Governorate, the renovation process will keep unchanged the mosque’s footprint and its capacity

RIYADH: A seventh-century mosque in Saudi Arabia's Al-Baha region is set to undergo a comprehensive renovation process, Saudi Press Agency has reported.

Built in the 670s, the Al-Safa historical mosque will be repaired under the second phase of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project for the Development of Historical Mosques.

The renovation project will ensure preservation of the mosque’s unique Sarat style and its historical value while restoring its aesthetic elements and renewing its construction with natural materials including stone from the Sarawat Mountains and local wood used in ceilings, columns, windows, and doors.

Located in the Baljurashi Governorate, the renovation process will keep unchanged the mosque’s footprint and its capacity.

The mosque’s current area is 78 square meters, and can accommodate 31 worshippers. The restoration will be executed as per a set of methods that preserve the mosque’s historical and design values.

The mosque is surrounded by adjacent buildings separated by narrow passages in the village in the high mountains, where there are many forms of construction, including stone buildings characterized by narrow openings.

Al-Safa Mosque is supported by two distinct columns of juniper trees, which the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project will redevelop, in addition to preserving the inscriptions on the mosque's columns and developing them with inscriptions of the staircase unit, in a step that will also revive the ancient architectural traditions of the Al-Baha region and highlight its ancient historical heritage.

It is said that the first person to build the Al-Safa Mosque was Sufyan bin Auf Al-Ghamdi, and at the time, the mosque had a prominent social role, as it was considered a place for villagers to assemble and discuss their affairs and resolve their disputes between the Maghrib and Isha prayers.

The second phase of the project has covered 30 historic mosques across the Kingdom's 13 regions, including six mosques in Riyadh, five mosques in Makkah, four mosques in Madinah, three in Asir, two in each of the Eastern Region, Al-Jauf, and Jazan, and one mosque in each of the Northern Borders Region, Tabuk, Al-Baha, Najran, Hail, and Al-Qassim.

The project aims 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.

The renovation process is being carried out by Saudi companies specialized in heritage buildings, with an emphasis on involving Saudi engineers to ensure the preservation of the authentic urban identity of each mosque since its establishment.

The Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project for the Development of Historical Mosques serves four strategic objectives: restoration of historical mosques for worship and prayer, restoration of the urban authenticity of historical mosques, highlighting the cultural dimension of Saudi Arabia, and enhancing the religious and cultural status of historical mosques.

The project also contributes to highlighting the cultural and civilizational extent of the Kingdom as one of the pillars of the Saudi Vision 2030 by preserving authentic urban characteristics and utilizing them to contribute to the development of modern mosque designs.


Political stability of Libya is a ‘priority for Italy’s national security,’ says Meloni

Political stability of Libya is a ‘priority for Italy’s national security,’ says Meloni
Updated 3 min 38 sec ago

Political stability of Libya is a ‘priority for Italy’s national security,’ says Meloni

Political stability of Libya is a ‘priority for Italy’s national security,’ says Meloni
  • The comment from the Italian prime minister came during a lengthy meeting with Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, her counterpart in Libya’s transitional government
  • Giorgia Meloni said Libya ‘remains a strategic economic partner for Italy’ and stressed the importance of holding presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya ‘as soon as possible’

ROME: Italian authorities consider political stability in Libya “a priority for Italy’s national security,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, her counterpart in Libya’s transitional government, on Wednesday.
It came during a lengthy meeting in Rome, during which enhanced joint efforts to tackle illegal migration and cooperation in the fields of energy and waste management were the core issues they discussed, sources said.
Meloni said that Libya “remains a strategic economic partner for Italy.” She also stressed how important it is “to hold Libyan presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible,” and added that “Italy will continue to work to guarantee the success of the United Nations mediation.”
Sources in the Italian prime minister’s office told Arab News that Dbeibah was accompanied by the Libyan ministers of foreign affairs, interior, transport and communications.
Other representatives of the Italian government included deputy premiers Antonio Tajani, who is also the foreign minister, and Matteo Salvini, Minister of Business and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, and Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.
Piantedosi and his Libyan counterpart signed a memorandum of understanding for strengthening security cooperation.
On the sidelines of the meeting, an agreement for joint initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was signed by Claudio De Scalzi, the CEO of Italian energy company ENI, and a representative of the Libya’s National Oil Corporation.
In addition, Telecom Italia Sparkle and the Libyan Post Telecommunications and Information Technology Company signed a memorandum of understanding for an underwater data cable linking the two countries.


Lionel Messi: 'I've decided to go to Inter Miami'

Lionel Messi: 'I've decided to go to Inter Miami'
Updated 41 sec ago

Lionel Messi: 'I've decided to go to Inter Miami'

Lionel Messi: 'I've decided to go to Inter Miami'

BARCELONA: Lionel Messi will sign for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, the player said Wednesday in interviews with Spanish media, choosing the United States as his next destination over a Barcelona reunion or blockbuster deal to play in Saudi Arabia.
The Argentine forward, 35, has spent the last two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain, playing his final game for the club on Saturday, after moving from Barcelona in 2021, where he spent the majority of his career.
Messi said that he did not want to have to wait for Barcelona to find a formula to be able to sign him given their financial situation — they were unable to keep him before his move to PSG, leading to a tearful departure.
“I was afraid that it would happen again,” Messi told Spanish newspapers Diario Sport and Mundo Deportivo.
“I’ve taken the decision that I am going to Miami, I don’t have (the deal) 100 percent sealed or maybe there’s something left to do, but we decided to continue our path there.
“(I decided) to leave Europe, it’s true that I had offers from another European team but I didn’t even think about it because in Europe, my idea was only to go to Barcelona.
“After winning the World Cup and not being able to go to Barca, it’s time to go to MLS to live football in a different way and enjoy my day to day life more.
“Obviously with the same responsibility and desire to win, and to do things well, but with more calm.”
Messi is a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and is expected to earn the individual accolade once more after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in December 2022.
The football world was eagerly awaiting Messi’s decision after PSG confirmed this week the playmaker, widely considered the best player in the history of football, was departing.
Inter Miami, co-owned by former England international David Beckham and founded in 2018, sacked coach Phil Neville last week with the team bottom of the Eastern Conference — with Argentine Javier Morales taking over on an interim basis.
The romance of a Barcelona return and prospect of eye-watering riches in Saudi Arabia fell by the wayside as Messi opted to join MLS, with sun-soaked Miami a city he has holidayed in on previous occasions.
Some reports say key MLS sponsors including sportswear brand Adidas and Apple TV, who own the league’s domestic broadcasting rights, may be contributing to his deal.


US ‘committed to partners in Gulf,’ secretary of state tells Arab ministers

Key regional issues were on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting, including conflicts in Yemen, Sudan, Syria.
Key regional issues were on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting, including conflicts in Yemen, Sudan, Syria.
Updated 25 min 41 sec ago

US ‘committed to partners in Gulf,’ secretary of state tells Arab ministers

Key regional issues were on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting, including conflicts in Yemen, Sudan, Syria.
  • GCC diplomats meet in Riyadh with key regional issues on the agenda

RIYADH: The US remains committed to its Gulf Arab partners, at a time of rapidly shifting regional alliances, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Gulf diplomats in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Blinken spoke at a GCC ministerial meeting in Riyadh after talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
“The United States is in this region to say we remain deeply invested in partnering with all of you,” Blinken said at the opening of the US-GCC ministerial meeting on strategic partnership.
“The GCC is the core of our vision for a Middle East that is more stable, more secure, more prosperous.”

Key regional issues were on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting, including conflicts in Yemen, Sudan, Syria and the Palestinian territories. “Together, we are working to achieve a ... resolution to the conflict in Yemen,”and to “continue to counter Iran’s destabilizing behavior,” including seizures of tankers in international waters, Blinken told the GCC ministers.
“We are determined to find a political solution in Syria that maintains its unity and sovereignty and meets the aspirations of its people,” he added.
Shortly before the meeting, Blinken held private talks with Prince Faisal. The two “resolved to continue to work together to counter terrorism, to support efforts to bring about a lasting peace in Yemen, and to promote stability, security, de-escalation, and integration in the region,” the US State Department said. “They pledged to continue their strong cooperation to end the fighting in Sudan.”
Earlier, after his arrival in Jeddah on Tuesday at the start of a three-day visit, Blinken met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Their meeting, which lasted about 100 minutes, touched on topics including Saudi Arabia’s support for US evacuations from Sudan, and the need for political dialogue in Yemen.
The two men discussed “our shared priorities, including countering terrorism through the Global Coalition against Daesh, achieving peace in Yemen, and deepening economic and scientific cooperation,” Blinken said.


Saudi woman to become 1st female referee at Mt. Everest International Yoga Championship

Saudi woman to become 1st female referee at Mt. Everest International Yoga Championship
Updated 42 min 3 sec ago

Saudi woman to become 1st female referee at Mt. Everest International Yoga Championship

Saudi woman to become 1st female referee at Mt. Everest International Yoga Championship
  • Abdulmajeed was among Saudi Arabia’s first batch of 19 female and two male yogasana referees who graduated in October at an event in Riyadh
  • Nouf Al-Marwaai, president of the Saudi Yoga Committee, said she was proud that Abdulmajeed would be participating alongside the Saudi team

JEDDAH: Mashael Akram Abdulmajeed will on Thursday make history when she becomes the first Saudi woman to referee at the Mt. Everest International Yoga Championship.
The second edition of the event has been organized by the Nepal Yoga Association and the International Yoga Sports Federation.
Abdulmajeed was among Saudi Arabia’s first batch of 19 female and two male yogasana referees who graduated in October at an event in Riyadh.
Nouf Al-Marwaai, president of the Saudi Yoga Committee, said she was proud that Abdulmajeed would be participating alongside the Saudi team, competing for the first time in an international championship.
She noted that considerable planning had gone into helping more Saudis qualify as referees to officiate at local, regional, and international championships.
“With the increasing number of yoga practitioners and professionals in all parts of the Kingdom, there has been an urgent need to equip national cadres of male and female referees to supervise the arbitration of local championships.
“To achieve this goal, the Saudi Yoga Committee hosted experts from the Asian Yoga Federation to qualify young cadres of both sexes through training courses. Intensive training for referees,” Al-Marwaai added.
Abdulmajeed will be the first Saudi referee to participate in an international championship since the establishment of the yoga committee, although Nouf bint Muhammad Al-Maroui had officiated at the level prior its setup.
 


Saudi Justice Minister elected head of pan-Arab body

Saudi Justice Minister elected head of pan-Arab body
Updated 40 min 12 sec ago

Saudi Justice Minister elected head of pan-Arab body

Saudi Justice Minister elected head of pan-Arab body
  • Al-Samaani and Tabbi will serve in their roles for two years

RIYADH: Saudi Justice Minister Waleed Al-Samaani has been elected head of the executive office of the Council of Arab Justice Ministers, the Saudi Press Agency reported. 

Abdul Rashid Tabbi of Algeria was elected deputy head. Both will serve in their roles for two years.

The announcement came on Wednesday during the 71st session of the executive office, held at the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo.