# Al Badiyah Mosque, Fujairah > Al Badiyah Mosque is a tiny stone-and-mud mosque with four stepped domes in Al Bidya village, northern Fujairah — the UAE's oldest, still used for daily prayer. Entry is free; visitors go in daily between prayers, with no official hours. Allow 30 minutes, an hour with the watchtower climb. Cover up; women need a headscarf. Web page: https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/al-badiyah-mosque - City: [Fujairah](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah), United Arab Emirates - YesGo score: 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 30 min - Opening hours: Daily between prayers, avoid Friday midday; no official hours — unofficially 9:00–17:00 (unverified) - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Free, no ticket or booking - Visiting hours: Daily between prayers; unofficially 9:00–17:00, sources disagree - Friday: Congregational prayer at midday — come in the morning or another day - Non-Muslims: Welcome inside outside prayer times - Dress code: Shoulders and knees covered, headscarf for women; shoes off at the door - Time needed: 30 minutes; about an hour with the watchtower climb - Getting there: ≈ 39 km from Fujairah Fort (≈ 40 min), ≈ 138 km from Deira, Dubai (≈ 1 h 50 min) — car or taxi - UNESCO Tentative List: Since 2012, according to Wikidata - Parking: Free, next to the mosque - Coordinates: 25.43897, 56.35359 - Facts checked: 03.11.2026 ## Key facts - **Oldest in the UAE** — per Fujairah's tourism authority — and still a working mosque (source: Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority (fujairahtourism.ae); English Wikipedia, Al Bidya Mosque; Gulf News) - **1446 or c. 1599** — two datings: a University of Sydney study, then a 2017 study (source: Gulf News, 2025; English Wikipedia and The National give 1446) - **≈ 39 km** — by road north of Fujairah Fort, about 40 minutes (source: OpenStreetMap and OSRM routing, YesGo calculation; Fujairah tourism authority gives 35 km from the city) - **6.8 × 6.8 m** — the whole prayer hall — about the size of a small flat (source: The National; Gulf News) - **4 domes** — all resting on a single central pillar (source: Fujairah tourism authority; English Wikipedia; Khaleej Times; Gulf News) - **No minaret** — unusual for a mosque, and never had one (source: English Wikipedia; Gulf News; The National) - **Up to 70** — worshippers fit inside for prayer (source: Gulf News — about 70; Khaleej Times — 50–70) - **Stone, mud brick, clay** — local materials under layers of whitewashed plaster (source: English Wikipedia; The National; Gulf News) - **"Ottoman Mosque"** — a popular nickname — the Ottomans had nothing to do with it (source: Fujairah tourism authority; English Wikipedia) - **March 2003** — reopened after restoration by the emirate's antiquities department (source: Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority (fujairahtourism.ae)) - **2 towers** — watchtowers on the rocky hill behind the mosque (source: English Wikipedia; The National) ## Is Al Badiyah really the oldest mosque in the UAE? Yes — Fujairah's tourism authority calls it the oldest mosque in the country, and it's still in use: the village prays here every day. It stands in **Al Bidya** (also spelled Al Badiyah or Bidiyah) on the Gulf of Oman coast, about 35 km north of Fujairah city, with four low stepped domes that look like stacked discs. Nobody knows the exact year. The usual date is **1446**, from work by Fujairah's archaeology and heritage department with the University of Sydney in 1997–1998. A later study commissioned in 2017 by Fujairah's Crown Prince pushed it closer to **1599**. There's no foundation inscription, so the debate goes on — but either way it's several centuries old. The building is tiny: **6.8 by 6.8 metres**, room for up to 70 people. The walls are local stone and mud brick in clay mortar, finished in whitewashed plaster. All four domes sit on **one central pillar** that splits the hall into four near-equal squares. There's no minaret at all. Wikidata lists it on UNESCO's Tentative List since 2012; we couldn't confirm that on UNESCO's own site. > **Dress code: shoulders, knees and a headscarf** This is a working mosque, and the rules are the same as at any mosque in the UAE. Men and women both need shoulders and knees covered; nothing tight or see-through. Women cover their hair. Shoes come off at the door. Scarves are reportedly lent on site, but that's unofficial — bring your own to be safe. ## Visiting hours and entry fee Entry is free, with no ticket or booking. Neither the mosque nor Fujairah's tourism authority publishes visiting hours, and guides disagree: 9:00–17:00, 8:00–18:30, or 9:00–13:00 plus 16:00–20:00. The one firm rule is that the hall is closed to sightseers during the five daily prayers. Non-Muslims are welcome inside — this is one of the few historic mosques in the country you can simply walk into. Skip Friday midday, when the congregational prayer takes over; Friday morning or any other day works better. Hours change during Ramadan. Prayer times in the UAE shift every day. Check any app set up for the Emirates and arrive just after a prayer ends — that gives you a quiet hour or more. There's nothing to pay for here except the ride. Cards work almost everywhere in the UAE, but carry some dirhams in cash for a taxi or a bottle of water in the village. ## What to see at Al Badiyah Mosque - **The four domes** — stepped and slightly uneven; best seen from the path up to the watchtower. - **The central pillar** inside — one column holding up the entire roof. - **The mihrab and minbar** — small and plain, no carving or marble. - **Wall niches** in the thick walls where Qurans are kept, and narrow windows that keep the light soft even at noon. - **The watchtowers** on the rocky hill behind — a short but rough climb, with views over the domes, the village, date gardens and the Gulf of Oman. - **The courtyard** with its low stone wall and the ablution area beside the hall. ## How to get to Al Badiyah Mosque 1. From Fujairah Fort, take a taxi or drive north on the coast road towards Dibba — about 39 km, roughly 40 minutes with no traffic. 2. You pass through Khor Fakkan, an enclave of Sharjah emirate; the [Khor Fakkan waterfall](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/khor-fakkan-waterfall) is about 8 km short of the mosque. 3. In Al Bidya the mosque sits right by the road, below the rocky hill with the towers; there's free parking next to it. 4. A taxi from Fujairah city costs roughly AED 80–120 one way (unofficial). Ask the driver to wait — there are no cabs to hail in the village. 5. From Dubai it's about 138 km from Deira, close to two hours over the Hajar mountains. Intercity bus E700 only goes as far as Fujairah city; you'll still need a taxi from there. 6. [Snoopy Island](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/snoopy-island) is 8 km further north, about 10 minutes — easy to combine. ## Is Al Badiyah Mosque worth visiting? On its own, probably not: you'll see it in twenty minutes, and two hours each way from Dubai is a lot for one small building. As a stop on an east coast day, absolutely — it's the oldest mosque you can walk into in the UAE, and it sits right between Snoopy Island and Khor Fakkan. What makes it worth the stop is the scale. After the marble halls of Abu Dhabi or the big modern Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Fujairah city, this is a village prayer room built by hand, with a ceiling low enough to touch and walls thick enough to keep it cool in summer. Climb to the watchtower if you can. From the top, the four domes look like a cluster of white shells against the sea, and you understand why someone built a lookout here: the bay, the mountains and the coast road are all in view. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] Shoulders and knees covered; headscarf for women - [ ] Socks or slip-on shoes - [ ] Closed shoes for the watchtower path - [ ] Checked the next prayer time - [ ] Not Friday midday - [ ] Water and a hat — no shade on the hill - [ ] Some dirhams in cash for the taxi ## Al Badiyah Mosque, Fujairah Fort or Snoopy Island | | Al Badiyah Mosque | Fujairah Fort | Snoopy Island | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | The UAE's oldest working mosque | Stone-and-mud fort in town | Rocky islet for snorkeling | | Where | Al Bidya village, north coast | Old quarter of Fujairah city | Al Aqah, 8 km north of the mosque | | By road from the fort | ≈ 39 km | — | ≈ 43 km | | Entry | Free (unverified) | Free (unofficial) | Island free; hotel day pass AED 150 | | Time needed | 30–60 minutes | 30–45 minutes | 2–3 hours | Distances: OpenStreetMap and OSRM, YesGo calculation; fort and island details from their own pages. ## Fujairah's mosques and holy places: compare and choose - [Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Fujairah](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-sheikh-zayed-mosque) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free (unofficial) - [Al Badiyah Mosque](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/al-badiyah-mosque) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free ## The east coast in a day Start at Fujairah Fort, then head north along the sea: the Khor Fakkan waterfall, the old Al Badiyah Mosque and a snorkel at Snoopy Island. YesGo works out the timing and transfers. 1. [Fujairah Fort](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-fort) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free (unofficial) 2. [Khor Fakkan Waterfall](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/khor-fakkan-waterfall) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free 3. [Al Badiyah Mosque](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/al-badiyah-mosque) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free 4. [Snoopy Island](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/snoopy-island) — YesGo score 26/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Free; Sandy Beach day pass AED 150 > **Come in the morning** Morning light is softest on the white domes, the hill isn't hot yet and there are fewer people. From November to March the watchtower climb is pleasant at any hour; in summer go early or late in the afternoon. ## Don't confuse Al Badiyah is not the [Sheikh Zayed Mosque](https://yesgo.io/united-arab-emirates/fujairah/fujairah-sheikh-zayed-mosque) in Fujairah city — that one is big and modern, this one tiny and centuries old. Al Bidya belongs to Fujairah, while neighbouring Khor Fakkan is part of Sharjah. Spellings vary: Al Badiyah, Al Bidya, Al Bidyah, Bidiyah. ## Tips - Arrive right after a prayer — you'll have the hall to yourself. - Don't photograph people praying; everything else is fine, without flash. - Climb to the watchtower — the domes from above are the shot of the day. - Pair it with Snoopy Island, 10 minutes north. - Socks help: the stone floor by the door gets hot in summer. - Ask your taxi to wait — you won't find another one in the village. ## Questions ### Where is Al Badiyah Mosque? In the village of Al Bidya on the UAE's east coast, in Fujairah emirate, about 35 km north of Fujairah city on the road to Dibba. ### Is Al Badiyah the oldest mosque in the UAE? Yes, it's described as the oldest mosque in the country by Fujairah's tourism authority, and it's still used for daily prayer. ### How old is Al Badiyah Mosque? Usually dated to 1446; a 2017 study suggested closer to 1599. The exact date is debated, but it's several centuries old. ### What are Al Badiyah Mosque's visiting hours? There are no official hours. Visitors are let in daily between prayers; guides quote 9:00–17:00 among other times. Avoid Friday midday. ### Is there an entry fee? No, entry is free and there's no booking (unofficial — the mosque has no website). ### Can non-Muslims visit Al Badiyah Mosque? Yes, outside prayer times. Cover shoulders and knees, women cover their hair, and take your shoes off at the door. ### What is the dress code? Shoulders and knees covered, nothing tight or see-through; women need a headscarf. Wear closed shoes if you plan to climb to the watchtower. ### How do I get to Al Badiyah Mosque from Dubai? By car or taxi — about 138 km, close to two hours. Bus E700 from Dubai only reaches Fujairah city; from there it's about 40 minutes by taxi. ### How long do you need at Al Badiyah Mosque? About 30 minutes for the mosque, an hour with the climb to the watchtower. ### What else is near Al Badiyah Mosque? Snoopy Island 8 km north, the Khor Fakkan waterfall about 8 km south, and Fujairah Fort and Museum about 40 minutes away. ## How we checked Distance from the city, the "Ottoman" nickname and the 2003 reopening come from Fujairah's official tourism site. It gives no hours, fee or visitor rules, so entry, hours, dress code and parking come from unofficial guides (uaeinform, Property Finder, Lonely Planet) and are marked unverified — the guides quote three different schedules. We give both datings: 1446 from the University of Sydney study (Wikipedia, The National, Gulf News) and c. 1599 from the 2017 study (Gulf News). Sources disagree on whether radiocarbon dating was possible, so we don't describe the method. The 53 m² floor area (Wikipedia, Khaleej Times) doesn't match 6.8 × 6.8 m (The National, Gulf News); we give the dimensions. UNESCO Tentative List status is from Wikidata only — UNESCO's site didn't respond. Taxi fares are unofficial. Distances are our own OpenStreetMap calculation. ## Sources - Fujairah Tourism & Antiquities Authority (fujairahtourism.ae), Places of Worship: distance, "Ottoman" name, restoration - English Wikipedia: Al Bidya Mosque; Wikidata Q4115363 - Gulf News, 2025 — datings 1446 and c. 1599, size, materials - The National — size, towers, dating; Khaleej Times — floor area, domes, capacity - uaeinform, Property Finder; Lonely Planet — visitor rules, hours, parking (unofficial) - OpenStreetMap (Nominatim) and OSRM routing — coordinates and distances --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.