Abu Dhabi / Agencies:
Emirati officials announced the discovery of an ancient Christian monastery likely to date back to the years before the spread of Islam across the Arabian Peninsula on an island off the coast of the Emirates, according to the Associated Press.
The monastery, located on the island of Seniya in the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain, dates back 1,400 years, and sheds light on the history of early Christianity along the shores of the Arabian Gulf.
The two monasteries were lost to history under the sand over time, and scholars believe that Christians slowly converted to Islam with the increasing spread of the faith in the region.
The plan of the monastery on the island of Seniya indicates that the first Christian worshipers prayed inside the monastery's one-aisled church. The rooms inside appear to contain a baptismal font, as well as an oven for sacrificial bread. It is also possible that the nave contained an altar and a place for preparing wine.
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