The second phase of the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Project for Developing Historic Mosques has placed much attention to the Riyadh Region through caring for its mosques, where the projects rehabilitate and restore six mosques with the aim of maintaining their old architectural features and enhancing general awareness on caring for historic mosques. The project in Riyadh Region seeks to achieve balance between old and new construction standards in a way that grants mosques a considerable level of sustainability and mixes development impacts with a set of heritage and historical features. The mosques in Riyadh include Al-Qibli Mosque in the southern part of Manfouha neighborhood in Riyadh, which was built in 1100 Hijri and is considered the closest mosque to the old palace of the governorate, where the mosque used to receive princes and town dignitaries to pray. The mosque was expanded by King Abdulaziz and reconstructed in 1364 Hijri, where its pre-renovation area was 642.85 square meters and will increase to 840.32 square meters with a capacity of 440 worshippers after the completion of renovation. In Al-Thahirah neighborhood, the project aims at developing Al-Rumaileh Mosque, also known as Al Salamah Mosque, which is one of the oldest heritage mosques whose construction methods represent a model for the architecture of the old mosques of Riyadh. Its pre-renovation area stands at 1,184.69 square meters and will stand at 1,555.92 square meters after renovation, with its capacity increasing from 327 to 657 worshippers. As for Al-Oudah Mosque in the center of Al-Oudeh District in north of Ad-Diriyah city, it represents the oldest mosques of the governorate and was first built from clay. Its pre-renovation area stands at around 794 square meters and will increase to 1,369.82 square meters with its capacity going up from 510 to 992 worshippers. On the outskirts of Riyadh, the project targets Al-Qalaah Mosque at Al-Hilwah Center in Houtat Bani Tamim, which was built in 1250 Hijri. The mosque was named after the castle of Prince Turki Al Saud and prayers are performed in it until the present except for the Friday prayers that were halted some 50 years ago. The post-renovation area will stand at 625.78 square meters with its capacity remaining at 180 worshippers. In the east of Laila City in Al-Aflah Governorate, the project will develop the historic Al-Hazimi Mosque that was built more than 100 years ago with a capacity of 110 worshippers. In the west of Al-Majmaah City in Riyadh, Al-Rawsa Mosque, which was built in 1365 Hijri, will be reconstructed, where its post-renovation area will reach 663 square meters and its capacity will reach 210 worshippers after prayer was halted in this mosque. A total of 30 mosques will be included in the second phase of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Project for Developing Historic Mosques that covers all regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These mosques will be developed according to modern mechanism that guarantees the quality of good material and architectural designs after conducting an accurate assessment of the history, characteristics and features of every mosque. — SPA
