Sultan Qaboos Great Mosque
The Sultan Qaboos Great Mosque ( Arabic جامع السلطان قابوس الأكبر, DMG Ǧāmiʿ as-Sulṭān Qābūs al-akbar ) is the main mosque in Oman . It is considered to be one of the most important structures in the country and one of the world's largest mosques.
The construction of the facility was decided by Sultan Qaboos in 1992 . After a limited architectural competition, construction work began in 1995 and was concluded with the opening ceremony in 2001. Since then it has been named after the builder.
The entire complex was built from 300,000 tons of Indian sandstone and covered a total of 4 hectares . It consists of a large men's prayer hall, a smaller women's prayer hall, five minarets (they symbolize the five pillars of Islam ), two large archways (Arabic: riwaqs ), an Islamic information center and a library.
Building history
Sultan Qaboos decided in 1992 to build an Omani central mosque. The aim of the construction project was the construction of the largest Friday mosque in Oman and the creation of a center for the dissemination of the Islamic religion of Ibadin orientation , which should serve to promote Islamic literature and culture.
As a result, a limited architectural competition was announced in 1993 by the royal court (English Diwan of Royal Court) . Nine renowned architecture firms were invited to this. The joint design by the architect Mohammed Saleh Makiya from Makiya Associates and the architects from Quad Design (both based in London) was chosen as the winner.
A 416 hectare area in the municipality (arab. Niyaba ) of al-Ghubra in the administrative district (arab. Wilaya ) Bawshar in the governorate (arab. Muhafaza ) Muscat was chosen as the location . The location of the mosque on the main road between Muscat and Sib was deliberately chosen because of the good transport links in the center of the Muscat Capital Area . In addition, the many passers-by on this important transit route can see the mosque well from the car.
Construction work began in the spring of 1995. As a general contractor that was Carillion Alawi LLC commissioned. First of all, in accordance with the Omani building tradition, the building site was raised above street level in order to secure a lofty place for the mosque. The actual construction took six years. The mosque was finally inaugurated on May 4, 2001 by Sultan Qaboos, which has been named after him ever since.
The construction costs were originally calculated at 18 million Omani rials ; this corresponds to approx. US $ 47 million or € 33 million . However, the actual construction costs are estimated to be at least double.
description
Exterior
You enter the mosque from the south through a high arch on which you can read “Great Mosque” in Arabic on the left and texts from the Koran on the other side . In the line of sight there are two more high arches which - together with the dark marble strips embedded in the paving - run towards the 91.5 m high main minaret. At the four corners of the site there are four more minarets, each 45 m high. In addition to the main entrance, there is also a special entrance for women, which is only open during prayer times.
Immediately after the main entrance, on the right-hand side, is the three-storey public library with around 20,000 volumes on various subjects; For example, there are books on Islam, but also on natural sciences. On the left is the Islamic Information Center with an event hall with 300 seats. Lectures on Islam are offered in English every second Sunday.
After the two buildings, the first Riwaq (arcade) runs transversely in a west-east direction, with a minaret at each end; the second Riwaq runs parallel to it on the north side. In both riwaqs there are a total of twelve different niches, which are made differently in marble, ceramic or as a mosaic. Information boards contain information about the architectural style used, the geographical region in which this architectural style originated or was predominantly used and a time stamp of the epoch in which this architectural style can be classified. In the northern Riwaq, for example, there are niches that take up motifs from Oman and the Arabian Peninsula or show Byzantine ornaments. In the southern Riwaq, mosaics of Indian Islam and the Hijaz tribe are shown. The riwaqs also have washrooms for men on the left and women on the right. They are used for the ritual ablutions of wudoo ' before prayer.
If you go further north through the second high arch you come to a square forecourt. The entrance portals to the men's prayer hall are located on the left side of the forecourt. If you go to the right, you come to an inner courtyard, the so-called inner cream , which is intended for outdoor prayer. This is followed by the women's prayer hall. The open space around the mosque is called the outer cream, which can also accommodate additional believers during Friday prayers. The paved outdoor area offers space for a total of 8,000 prayers. If you add all the other courtyards and walkways to the prayer halls, the total capacity of the facility is 20,000 worshipers.
General view of the mosque complex from the north
South entrance with a view of the dome and the main minaret
Line of sight from the main entrance to the main minaret
Inner cream
Outside cream
interior
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The large men's prayer hall is square and measures 74.4 m × 74.4 m in external dimensions. It offers space for 6,500 believers. You can enter the hall through one of the three large entrance doors. The wooden doors are hand carved and richly decorated.
The 4293.45 m² prayer rug (70.50 m × 60.90 m) laid in it is considered a masterpiece of Iranian carpet knotting. The production of this hand-knotted carpet pushed the limits of what was technically feasible. There are no knotting chairs for this size. Therefore, the carpet had to be manufactured in several individual parts that conform to the pattern. These were knotted in Nishapur in the eastern Iranian province of Razavi-Khorasan . Six hundred weavers worked in two shifts for three years, making the individual parts. A total of 1.7 billion knots were tied around the cotton chain. The individual parts were then transported to Muscat and sewn together on site. This took another four months. The carpet weighs a total of 22 tons . A price was not disclosed, but was estimated at $ 5.2 million in 2000. Until the inauguration of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque with its 5,625 m² and 47-ton prayer rug, it was the largest rug in the world. The Iranian designers created a classic pattern, the ornamentation of which is inspired by the Safavid era and shows classic motifs from Isfahan . The round medallion fits perfectly in the round of the central dome, the ceiling colors of which are reflected in the twenty-eight coordinated plant tones of the carpet. Non-believers are not allowed to step on the prayer rug. Therefore - and to protect the valuable fabric - a blue carpet is laid on the carpet during the viewing hours, which you must not leave.
The wooden ceiling, richly decorated with calligraphy and arabesques , represents the optical counterpart to the carpet. A 50 m high dome arches over the room, in the middle of which hangs one of the largest chandeliers in the world. Its basic construction consists of gold-plated metal. It measures 8 × 14 m, carries 1,122 lamps, is richly hung with Swarovski crystals and weighs 8 tons. The chandelier was manufactured by the Faustig company (Germany / Italy). Eleven more crystal chandeliers have been hung next to it for additional lighting.
The prayer room for women can accommodate 750 people and is comparatively modest. Since men are not allowed to be present during prayer in the women's prayer room, the Friday prayer is broadcast from the main prayer room onto the video screen directly into the hall. The only thing that the two halls have in common is the large 14- carat gold clocks . The building is crowned by six smaller domes. The interior also includes nine gilded crystal chandeliers in the Ottoman style.
Outdoor facilities
A madrasa (English: Institute of Islamic Sciences ) is attached to the mosque . In addition to classrooms, this also has a dormitory on the premises. Here the Ibadite direction of Islam is taught. It is located south of the mosque complex. Parking lots have been created in the vicinity of the mosque. In addition, many palm trees were planted there to green the immediate vicinity of the mosque.
sightseeing
The mosque can be visited by non-Muslims from Saturday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Admission is free, but some rules should be observed: women must cover their hair with a headscarf, men are expected to wear long trousers and a shirt with at least short sleeves, and children under 10 are not allowed to visit this otherwise child-friendly country - At least that's what the signs say; in practice this prohibition seems to be handled loosely. Eating and drinking is prohibited on the premises; Smoking too. Before entering the large men's prayer hall, shoes must be taken off, which can be stowed in the shoe racks in front of the entrance to the prayer hall.
literature
- O.V .: The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque: the inauguration 10 Safar 1422 - May 4, 2001, Apex Publ .: Ruwi, Muscat (Oman), 2001.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Quad Design was founded in 1987 by the architects Reza Daraie, Zina Allawi and Godfrey Heaps (see self- description on the British-Iranian Business News website ( Memento from March 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive )).
- ^ Municipal division according to information from the Omani Ministry of Information. In: omanet.om. Archived from the original on February 26, 2014 ; accessed on April 7, 2017 (English).
- ↑ The Economist, September 8, 1997, Vol. 344, Issue 8029, p. 40.
- ↑ a b c Heck, Gerhard: Oman . DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2009, p. 146, ISBN 978-3-7701-7667-0 .
- ↑ cf. Xinhua General News Service: World's Largest Carpet Shipped to Oman . December 30, 2000, Tehran (accessed via LexisNexis Wirtschaft )
- ↑ Information from raumeinrichtung.de
- ^ Official information page of the Omani Ministry of Information - English
Coordinates: 23 ° 35 ′ 2 ″ N , 58 ° 23 ′ 21 ″ E