Israel uncovers remains of mosque

Subject: International relations

Section: Mapping

Discovery sheds light on region’s transition from Christianity to Islam.
The remains of the mosque are believed to be more than 1,200 years old.
The mosque located in the Negev desert contains “a square room and a wall facing the direction of Mecca”.
A short distance from the mosque, a “luxurious estate building” was also discovered, with remains of tableware and glass artifacts pointing to the wealth of its residents,
Three years ago, another mosque was unearthed nearby from the same era of the seventh to eighth century AD, calling the two Islamic places of worship “among the earliest known worldwide”.

Negev Desert

The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel.
The region’s largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. 209,687), in the north.
At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort city and port of Eilat.
The Negev contains the oldest discovered surface on Earth, with an approximate age of 1.8 million years.
It covers more than half of Israel, over some 13,000 km2 (4,700 sq mi) or at least 55% of the country’s land area.
It forms an inverted triangle shape whose western side is contiguous with the desert of the Sinai Peninsula, and whose eastern border is the Arabah valley.