BAHA — The residents of Al-Atawlah village responded with joy to the call for prayer that was raised from the minaret of the Al-Atawlah Heritage Mosque after the mosque recently opened its doors to worshipers following its restoration and rehabilitation which was carried out as part of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Project for Historical Mosques Renovation in the Kingdom.

Al-Atawlah Mosque, nearly 30 kilometers north of the city of Baha, and located in the epicenter of the heritage village of Al-Atawlah, is considered one of the oldest mosques in the region and was the only one in the area where Friday prayers used to be performed.

The mosque, which was built of irregularly shaped stones and its roof made of trunks of juniper trees, accommodates about 130 worshipers and occupies an area of around 300 square meters. It consists of a prayer house with a ceiling standing on circular wooden pillars, an open courtyard, an ablution place, a water tank, and an outside staircase to the roof of the prayer house with which the Muezzin climbs to the roof to call to prayer. The mosque has two entrances, one on the eastern facade and the other on the northern facade of the mosque.

After the completion of the rehabilitation process, the mosque now consists of a prayer house and an open courtyard, a water tank, and a place where worshipers can do ablutions.

Speaking with the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Abdulaziz Al-Zahrani, an elderly resident of Al-Atawla village, spoke about the history of the mosque, which was built more than 900 years ago, and was left abandoned for nearly 20 years, after another modern mosque was built in the village.

Al-Zahrani indicated that in the past, the mosque used to host gatherings to teach the Holy Qur'an and the Prophet’s Sunnah and was also a place where the residents used to learn reading and writing, praising Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project for Historical Mosques Renovation.

He added that the mosque’s rehabilitation was carried out in an old-fashioned manner in terms of construction and designs as well as re-furnishing and developing nearby squares and ablution places.

Al-Zahrani emphasized that the mosque's rehabilitation brought happiness to the people who now perform the five prayers there while recalling the past in this mosque. — SG