30 mosques in 10 regions of Saudi Arabia have been refurbished as part of the first phase of the Mohammed bin Salman Project for Historical Mosques Renovation programme. The programme is being led by the Kingdom’s Ministry of Culture.
The programme was launched following the directions of HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. The programme comprises several phases and will ultimately see the renovation of 130 historical mosques across the Kingdom.
According to a report by the Saudi Press Agency, the renovation work was carried out by firms experienced and specialised in heritage buildings at a cost of $13.33m. The work was carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance, the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage and the Saudi Society for the Preservation of Heritage.
The project took into account small details to recover the basic design of the mosques using new and high quality materials, and added new elements such as prayer rooms for women, facilities for people with the disabilities and features such as air conditioning, lighting and acoustics, the report said.
The age of the historical mosques varies between 60 and 1,432 years.
