The mosque, or masjid in Arabic, is the Muslim place of worship. A mosque is an important part of the Islamic religion because the people are required to gather every Friday for prayer. Mosques in the middle east each are unique in their own architectural way, although some may look similar. Most mosques in the middle east have common features, but are also formed in different ways. The style and arrangement of a mosque can tell us a lot about the place, when it was built, and the religion. The Island Mosque is located on the island in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (Hence the name, “Island” Mosque.) The design was created in 1983 by Egyptian architect Abdel Wahed El-Wakil and was officially completed in March of 1986. The Island Mosque has an area of 400 square meters and is constructed with many different materials. Mosques in the middle east are typically based on brick walls, vaults, and domes. Which is why the Island Mosque is built with hollow baked bricks stuck together with mortar. …show more content…
It has a rectangular prayer hall and next to it a porticoed courtyard, which opens to the main entrance and a square minaret. The prayer chamber is protected by aisles and has a dome on top as a roof. A dome, or qubba, is one of the many significant features of most mosques because it signifies the roof of heaven. The outside facades of the Island Mosque is different on two sides. The facades facing the mainland are mostly closed with not many openings, while the side facing the sea (as mentioned before) has many openings. Then, the minaret is on the northern side of the courtyard with a small dome and a wooden balcony. A minaret is also one of the common features of mosques: it is a tower attached to the mosque and is where the call to prayer is declared. Interestingly, the Island Mosque’s minaret looks like a mini version of the mosque’s big dome. The Island Mosque is organized in a simplistic yet fitting