- Address: Sultan Qaboos St, Muscat, Oman
- Phone: +968 24 505170
- Website: sultanqaboosgrandmosque.com
- Architectural style: Islamic architecture
- Years of construction: 1995-2001
- Area: 416 thousand square meters. m
- Cost of visit: free of charge
- Visit time: Sun-Thu 9: 00-11: 00
Every Muslim country has its own Great Mosque - the main religious place of the capital, where all Muslims gather. There is also in Oman - it's the Sultan Qaboos Mosque, or the mosque of Muscat . This is a grandiose structure with a unique design. Let's find out what it's interesting for.
History of the shrine
This Muslim shrine is the main attraction of the country. In 1992, Sultan Qaboos decided to give his subjects a mosque, and not some, but the most that neither is gorgeous. It was built for the personal funds of the Sultan, like many other mosques in Oman .
The competition for the best design project was won by the architect Mohammed Saleh Makiyya. Construction work lasted more than 6 years, and in May 2001 the mosque adorned the capital. The sultan himself visited the construction site many times, then visited the grand opening - and after that did not visit the mosque even once.
Today, it is allowed to visit not only Muslims, but also tourists-gentiles. This opportunity can boast of a few mosques in the Muslim world.
Features of architecture
The majority of the population of Oman professes ibadism - the course of Islam, which seeks to simplify religious rites. Because of this mosque, countries do not have rich ornaments, they differ in strict interior and simplicity. The Sultan Qaboos Mosque is an exception to this rule.
The main architectural moments are as follows:
- Style. The building of the mosque is made in the traditional style of Islamic architecture. The main thing that catches your eye is minarets: 4 lateral and 1 main. Their height is 45.5 and 90 m, respectively. In the interior of the building, the motifs are clearly visible, and the walls are covered in gray and white marble.
- The size. In the entire Middle East, the Sultan Qaboos Mosque is considered the second after the Prophet's Mosque in Medina , and in the world - the third largest. It is built on a hill, like a Muslim shrine. The construction of this majestic structure took 300 thousand tons of Indian sandstone.
- Dome. It is double and has an openwork covering, under which a gilded mosaic is visible. It rises to 50 m. Inside the perimeter of the dome are windows with multi-colored glass - through them the room undergoes natural light.
- Prayer hall. The square central hall under the dome is fully placed at the disposal of the worshipers. Besides him, on holidays, believers also gather on the outside. In total, Sultan Qaboos Mosque can accommodate 20 thousand people.
- Hall for women. In addition to the main (male) hall, there is another small prayer room in the mosque for women. It accommodates 750 people. This inequality is due to the fact that Islam requires women to perform prayer at home, it is not necessary for the mosque to come here, although it is not forbidden. The women's room is decorated with pink marble.
What to see?
The interior of the Mosque of Sultan Qaboos is no less refined:
- A unique Persian carpet in the prayer hall is one of the main attractions of the interior of the mosque. This is the largest carpet in the world. It was created by an Iranian carpet company commissioned by the Sultanate of Oman. The carpet was made of 58 individual pieces joined together, and the spreading of this huge cloth took several months. The main characteristics of an unusual carpet:
- weight - 21 tons;
- number of patterns - 1.7 million;
- the number of flowers - 28 (only dyes of vegetable origin were used);
- the size is 74,4х74,4 m;
- time left for manufacturing - 4 years, during which 600 women worked in 2 shifts.
- Lusters not only illuminate the halls of the mosque, but also serve as their decoration. A total of 35, and the largest of them, produced in Austria by Swarovski, has a weight of 8 tons, a diameter of 14 meters and consists of 1122 lamps. By its forms, it repeats the minarets of the Sultan Qaboos Mosque.
- Mihrab (the arch pointing towards Mecca ) in the main hall is decorated with gilded tiles and painted with suras from the Koran.
How to visit?
Due to the fact that tourists are allowed to enter the Sultan Qabo Mosque, they can see the main shrine of the country not only from the outside, but also from inside, and completely free of charge. To do this, you must follow the following rules:
- do not interfere with those who pray;
- be accompanied by a guide;
- To visit the mosque only at a certain time (from 8:00 to 11:00 every day, except Friday);
- keep the dress code (long clothing, as much as possible covering the body, women have a covered head);
- Children under 10 years of age are not allowed to enter the mosque.
The parishioners can visit the three-story building of the library opened at the mosque. It contains more than 20 thousand editions of Islamic and historical subjects, free Internet works. There is also a lecture hall and an Islamic information center.
How to get there?
The Sultan Qaboos Mosque adorns the outskirts of Muscat and is located about halfway between the city center and the country's main airport. You need to go by bus to the Ruwi stop. However, travelers recommend to get here by taxi, especially in summer, since from the stop to the entrance to the mosque you need to overcome a considerable distance along the red-hot track.