Saudi Arabia Builds First Underwater Mosque

Saudi Arabia has built the world’s first underwater mosque off a northwestern coast close to the Jordanian border, according to reports in an Arabic newspaper.

The mosque was built by a group of private divers from Saudi Arabia, who used plastic pipes filled with sand under the sea off the coast in the north-western city of Tabuk, Almadina Arabic language daily reported.

“One of our colleagues came up with this idea last summer and we decided to carry it out,” diver Hamadan bin Salim Al Masoudi told the Emirates 24/7 website.

“We have just completed the construction of the mosque… when we put the final touches on it; it was time for afternoon prayers, so we performed group prayers in the first underwater mosque in history.”

Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and home to the holy lands of Makkah and Madinah.

The concept of an underwater mosque has followed the trend of other underwater structures being developed in the Middle East. 

Dubai World recently announced it was due to build an underwater hotel to be known as the World Discus Hotel. The hotel will take its name from its shape which will be comprised of submerged discs, according to Alarabiya.