Dubai, 22 Dec. (AKI) - Work is due to start in the next few weeks on the first Greek Orthodox church in the United Arab Emirates. It will be built at Jebel Ali in Dubai on land donated by the Dubai prince and defence minister Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum. The church will have a traditional Byzantine style and is expected to cost around 10 million dinars (2.72 million dollars), some of which will be raised through different events planned for the coming year. Once finished, the Orthodox community, which numbers around 200 in Dubai and has been attending the other Christian churches in the country for the last twenty years, will be able to organise functions, weddings and christenings with their own rites. St Mary's Church, which is due to take around 18 months to build, will be the first in the ancient Byzantine style in the Gulf region. Iraq and Kuwait each have one Orthodox church. Earlier this month the foundation stone was laid for the first Christian church in Qatar. The Catholic church is being built on a plot of land donated by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Other Christian denominations, including Anglicans, Copts and Orthodox, will build their churches on the same
land.