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Muscat Photo Gallery - 2. Grand Mosque and Al Bustan

In July and August 2006, we traveled to Dubai, Mount Kailash and Guge Kingdom in Tibet, Muscat, Iceland and a brief stop in London.

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 01 Full View Outside The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is the third largest in the world, built between 1995 and 2001 from 300,000 tons of Indian sandstone. The complex is 1000m long and 885m wide. The most visible part of a mosque is the minaret, the tower from which the call to prayer is broadcast five times a day. There are four 45.5m minarets on the corners and a big central one of 91.5m, the five minarets symbolizing the five pillars of Islam.

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 01 Full View Outside

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 02 Dome Closeup Outside The Arabic word for mosque is `masjid' (place of prostration). The holy day of the Islamic week is Friday when all Muslim men are commanded to go to the mosque for prayer (women can perform their prayers at home). The central dome rises to a height of 50m, topped with a crescent moon.

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 02 Dome Closeup Outside

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 03 Entrance With Female Dress Code Women visiting the mosque have to cover almost everything from their hair and neck to shoulders, arms and legs. Here is Charlotte in her official dress code to enter Muscat’s Grand Mosque.

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 03 Entrance With Female Dress Code

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 04 Entrance Door Outside Here is the ornate door at the entrance to the main musalla (prayer hall), which is square with each side with an external dimension of 74.4m. The main musalla can hold over 6,500 worshippers, The much smaller women’s musalla can accommodate 750 worshippers. The outer paved ground can hold 8,000 worshippers and there is additional space available in the interior courtyard and the passageways, making a total capacity of up to 20,000 worshippers

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 04 Entrance Door Outside

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 05 Chandelier Hanging From Central Dome The main prayer hall has a large ornate chandelier made of Swarovski crystal and gilded metals hanging from the central dome, which rises to a height of 50m above the floor.

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 05 Chandelier Hanging From Central Dome

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 06 Large Persian Carpet The main prayer hall has the largest carpet in the world, a 70m x 60m Persian carpet that took 600 women four years to weave. On the back wall is the mihrab, a niche in the wall facing Mecca. To the right of the mihrab is the minbar, a pulpit chair dating from the Prophet Mohammed’s time. The `imam', the one who leads the prayer, delivers the `khutba', the Friday sermon, which can deal with religious, social and political subjects.

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 06 Large Persian Carpet

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 07 Mihrab In the eastern end of the main prayer hall, made of finest ceramics and marble, is the mihrab, a niche in the wall facing Mecca, indicating the qibla, the direction believers should face while praying.

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 07 Mihrab

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 08 Decorated Arch In Islam it is forbidden to create any pictures of living beings (except plants), which could be worshipped. Accordingly, it is very rare to find pictures in mosques at all. Instead, the interior is usually decorated with rich ornamental patterns and Arabic calligraphy.

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 08 Decorated Arch

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 09 Decorated Arch Each niche in the cloister contains a decorated arch. A brass plaque indicates that the style of the mosque is based on that of Tamurlane and the mosque of Samarkand. The decorations are styled on a combination of Chinese and Islamic designs.

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 09 Decorated Arch

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 10 Colourful Stained Glass Window The main prayer hall is set with stained glass windows with geometric designs and pictures of plants.

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 10 Colourful Stained Glass Window

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 11 Womens Hall Here is the much smaller and plainer women’s musalla. It can accommodate 750 worshippers, while the main musalla for men can hold over 6,500 worshippers. The TV on the wall allows the women to watch the service in the main musalla.

Muscat 04 Grand Mosque 11 Womens Hall

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 01 Road On The Way On the way to Al Bustan, a pair of horses framed the highway.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 01 Road On The Way

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 02 Sohar Roundabout Just outside the Al Bustan Palace Hotel, a small roundabout is home to the Sohar, a boat named after the hometown of the famous Omani seafarer, Ahmed bin Majid. The boat is a replica of the one sailed by Abdulah bin Gasm in the mid-8C to Canton in China. It was built in the dhow yards of Sur from the bark of over 75,000 palm trees and four tins of rope.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 02 Sohar Roundabout

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 03 Outside View Of Hotel Opened in 1985, the Al Bustan Palace InterContinental Muscat hotel has built a reputation as one of the best hotels in the Middle East and one of the finest hotels in the world. Situated eight kilometres from the downtown business district, the hotel is nestled on the coast surrounded by a dramatic mountain backdrop, sea and beach, and set in 200 acres of lush, green gardens. It enjoys spectacular views over the Gulf of Oman.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 03 Outside View Of Hotel

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 04 Outside Pool Area We walked around the garden and pool of the Al Bustan Palace hotel, with the landscaped gardens behind.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 04 Outside Pool Area

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 05 Painting of Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said At Entrance Here is a painting of Oman’s handsome ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, at the entrance to the Al Bustan Palace hotel.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 05 Painting of Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said At Entrance

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 06 Juice In Lobby We enjoyed some juice in the Atrium Tea Lounge in the Al Bustan Palace Lobby.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 06 Juice In Lobby

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 07 Playing Piano In Lobby There was no live entertainment, so Peter surprised us by playing the piano in the lobby of the Al Bustan Hotel. Hmm, if you look closely you’ll see that the piano was actually on auto-pilot, making its own music. Ah shucks, he sounded so good.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 07 Playing Piano In Lobby

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 08 Lobby The Al Bustan lobby has been refurbished with heavy furniture and rich-coloured cushions.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 08 Lobby

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 09 Lobby Walls The ceramic decorated walls of the Al Bustan's lobby stretch up to the ceiling.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 09 Lobby Walls

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 10 Lobby Ceiling The Al Bustan's lobby stretches up to a high domed ceiling in which lots of little lights shine.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 10 Lobby Ceiling

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 11 Outside China Mood Restaurant We decided to eat our dinner at the China Mood restaurant at the Al Bustan Palace hotel.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 11 Outside China Mood Restaurant

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 12 Buddha Head Outside China Mood Restaurant A sculpture of a serene Buddha’s head welcomed us to the China Mood restaurant at the Al Bustan Palace hotel.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 12 Buddha Head Outside China Mood Restaurant

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 13 Enjoying Dinner At China Mood Restaurant We enjoyed a delicious Chinese food dinner at the China Mood restaurant at the Al Bustan Palace hotel.

Muscat 05 Al Bustan 13 Enjoying Dinner At China Mood Restaurant


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