It was the oldest known mosque in the country, before the discovery of an older mosque in 2018. (1000 yr old mosque dating back to Islamic golden age)

Here’s some information - from a testimony by Emirati Historian, Rashad Bukhash. According to him, the mosque was in really good shape even in 2008, after being built in around 1599!

No one can be sure to this day who built the mosque, but legend goes, that the person who built Al Bidya Mosque told the locals that he was capable of building a mosque that has four domes and just one pillar. They had serious doubts, so he took the challenge and well, completed it!

It is located in the village of Al Bidya in Fujairah. The village is a coastal one, which lies by the Gulf of Oman. Its people rely on fishing and farming for a living. The village gained prominence in the UAE through the mosque.

“The east coast of the UAE was a very important destination for travellers back then. When Ibn Batutta was exploring the world in 1140, there was evidence that he visited the towns on the eastern coasts, he wrote about this area of the UAE quite a bit, but he never mentions Dubai, Sharjah or Abu Dhabi.”

Adding to the prominence of the village are other archaeological finds. A 30-metre grave from 2000BC has been found in the village besides other findings from 200BC, the Hellenistic period.

It still functions today, and I’m quite sure you’d love to pay a visit!

India gate was originally built to commemorate martyrs of the British India Army who fought for their motherland against the enemies during the first world war. It also commemorates the martyrs of the Bangladesh liberation war in the year 1971. Amar Jawan Jyoti which is an integral part of India gate was built after the India-Pakistan war and was inaugurated by the then Prime Miniter of India, Indira Gandhi.

Other than the facts of the India Gate, the monument is fondly loved by Indians and people across the world not just for its architecture and beauty, but for what it represents for today’s India

India Gate should be preserved so that we remember the soldiers that have sacrificed themselves for the country.