The Grand Mosque of His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos

Yesterday we toured the grand mosque of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. I have been inside a mosque before but never one like this. Driving up to it, it is clearly massive and very beautiful, but walking around and through it, even more so.

When we got there, the women in our group covered their hair, out of respect, and before stepping inside the mosque, we took off our shoes, again, out of respect for the traditions and to keep the spaces clean. We started in the women’s prayer room. Absolutely beautiful. There were so many different textures, patterns, colors and materials; so much work and craftsmanship went into creating this room.

We then moved from the women’s prayer room, through the outdoor spaces. We kept our shoes off the entire time which was actually quite nice. There were many different types of marble used throughout the mosque but a special feature of the marble outside is that it doesn’t lock in heat…it was relatively cool to walk on despite the fact that it was 99+ degrees outside.

After walking through the outside spaces, we came to the main prayer room, reserved for the men. Now, in case you didn’t know, Muslim men are required to attend mosque for the five daily prayers. Women are not required to go to the mosque for prayer primarily because of all of the responsibilities that women have, including taking care of the children; it would be an extreme hassle to haul children to the mosque five times daily. There are probably more reasons but that was the main point that our lovely tour guide, Naima (I think that was her name), told us.

As we stepped in to the main prayer room, all I could think was, “Wow, this is absolutely stunning.” Pictures truly do not do it justice but I took some anyway 😉

That chandelier is ENORMOUS. Biggest, by far, that I have ever seen. And that ceiling, breathtaking.

(My silly phone camera didn’t have great lighting, but still, isn’t that amazing??)

Here is a professional photo:

The chandelier was stunning, the carpet was amazing, the walls were gorgeous All of it was beautiful and so many different countries contributed. Sultan Qaboos wanted all of his allies to feel that they contributed and to feel like it was as much theirs as it is the people of Oman.

Also worth noting, this mosque does not discriminate against the different sects of Islam, it is a welcoming place for all Muslims.

The beauty did not end with the ceiling and the chandelier, it had only begun…

SO many patterns, textures and colors.