Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

Inaugurated by none other than His Majesty the Sultan of Oman more than a decade ago, the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque has become one of Oman’s premier tourist attractions to date. Built according to royal command the concept of a grand mosque complex first took root in 1992 as the brainchild of its namesake Sultan Qaboos. Completed and opened to the public in May 2001, the mega construction took a whopping six years to complete due to the sheer scale and scope of the structure. Tipped to be Oman’s main religious centre, the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is a contemporary Islamic style religious venue with many record-breaking and world renowned attributes to its name.

Constructed almost entirely out of Indian sandstone, 300,000 tones of the material were used to create the imposing structure. Sprawled across 416,000 square metres, the mosque complex alone occupies 40,000 square metres and is located on an elevated platform in keeping with Islamic tradition. The remaining space is covered by landscaped gardens and other auxiliary elements.

Home to a meeting hall, an expansive library and sheltered passageways, the mosque’s central focal points are of course the main prayer hall and the prayer hall reserved for female worshippers. Flanked by five towering minarets the venue is also home to the world’s second largest hand woven carpet which covers the main prayer hall floors. Made up of 1,700,000 knots, this Isfahan Tabriz and Kashan design schools inspired piece weighs an impressive 21 tones and has been infused with 28 colours obtained using traditional vegetable dying methods. The hall’s magnificent 14 metre length Swarovski crystal chandelier is another unique attribute lined with gold-plated metalwork.

With a capacity to accommodate over 20,000 devotees simultaneously, the mosque’s entire interior space is panelled in marble and cut tile embellishments. Persian and Safavid motifs decorate the ceramic floral paintings and mural panels at the mosque where the ceilings resemble Omani forts of a bygone era. Stained glass works and marble columns are also scattered across the edifice which also houses an institute devoted to Islamic studies.

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