Built as a focal point, Masjid Bint Samikh is visible from the entire pathway between the shops, located at the tail end of the souq. It was named after Aisha Bint Abeed Al Samikh Al Zaabi, who relocated from Al Jazeera Al Hamra to Saudi Arabia after marrying a member of the country’s ruling family. Known by her kin as Bint Samikh, she would frequently return to visit her family in Al Jazeera Al Hamra and endeavored to rebuild and restore the mosque in the 1950s, adding a minaret with a classical design from the Al Ahsa region in Eastern Saudi Arabia.

 

Archaeological excavations of the Bint Samikh Mosque revealed several phases of its use, during which the mosque’s architecture was continuously changed. The earliest represents the mosque Abdullah Bin Sultan Aluwais. The walled complex further includes a wash house for ablutions. The remains of a watchtower, which was destroyed by the British in 1820, are also visible in close proximity to the mosque. Its demolition could be verified during archaeological excavations, revealing intense scorch marks.