Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Sunday 5th January:
We started our day visiting the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in Oman and the only one which non-Muslims are allowed to enter.
Visiting hours for non-Muslims are from 8am to 11am from Saturday to Thursday, and closed all day on Fridays.
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| The mosque with the Hajar mountains in the background beyond the marble arches. |
Visitors were directed to one area to get a head covering or rent an abaya in case they didn't have the appropriate clothes which covered knees and shoulders.
Men and women need to have their knees and shoulders covered, wear loose-fitting clothing and women must cover their head. Karina and I had scarves that we put over our heads. Then we took our shoes off, stored them into cubicles and joined an English tour guide for an expensive 5 omr =20 aud per person.
The mosque was completed in 2001 and is a stunning building, a masterpiece of Islamic architecture, surrounded by beautiful manicured gardens, its interior richly decorated with calligraphy and arabesques. Everything is spotlessly clean and shiny.
Built over 6 years from 1995 to 2001, it occupies 416,000 sq metres, with a central dome 50mt diameter and 34 mt high, one of the largest in the world. Built by artisans from various countries, it used 300 thousand tons of Indian sandstone.
It has the capacity for up to 20,000 worshippers including the main prayer hall, the women's prayer hall, outer paved ground and interior courtyard.
There are 5 minarets around the mosque, the tallest reaching 91,5mt, the other four 45mt, symbolizing the five pillars of Islam.
In the main prayer hall, a massive continuous hand-woven carpet covers an area of 4,263 sq mt (about 60x70mt), the second biggest hand-woven carpet in the world (first one is in Mecca). It took 600 weavers from Iran, 4 years to complete. It weighs 21 tons and is valued at 5,5 million euros.
The prayer hall also boasts a central chandelier, 14mt high, 8 mt wide Swarovski chandelier adorned with 600,000 crystals, weighing 8 tons, and illuminated by 1122 bulbs. Smaller chandeliers hang on the edge of the prayer hall. Its value also runs into the millions...
The central dome, made from 14,000 tons of marble, rises majestically above the prayer hall, drawing visitors’ gazes upward.
The mihrab, a niche in the wall which indicates the direction of Mecca and thus the direction of prayer, is very tall and decorated all over with soothing colours.
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Standing in front of the mihrab
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The beautifully manicured gardens surrounding the mosque
Before leaving the grounds, visitors were encouraged to go past to the Information Centre to have a complimentary cup of coffee and dates and to pick up information pamphlets in various languages or to have a chat with one of the guides.
We decided to go past and while Karina and Jose enjoyed a coffee and I tried a variety of sweet dates, one of the guides asked us where we were from and if we had questions. I asked him about the dress code for Islamic women, the colours they use (in Qatar married women tended to wear black and wore face coverings, in Oman I saw a lot of women wearing colourful abayas and no face coverings). He said that Islam does not require women to specifically wear black, it's a matter of choice probably to better cover their body shape, and also that no face cover is required (niqab or burqa), it's a matter of choice, just a head cover in the mosque. The focus is on modesty, both for men and women.
Royal Opera House
A 10 minute taxi ride delivered us to the Royal Opera House.
Built on the order of Sultan Qaboos (former ruler of Oman) a fan of classical music and arts, it was officially opened in October 2011 after a building time of 3 years.
It's opened to the public from Saturday to Thursday 8,30am to 5,30pm with an entry fee of 3,15 OMR per adult (Aud13,20).
Built with similar materials to the ones used in the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the interior pays homage to Omani palaces and temples, with Italian marble and Austrian crystal chandeliers, and hand painted decorations on wooden surfaces.
The red and gold theater hall seats 1,100 guests and was designed as a flexible space to adapt to different events. The stage is adjustable and the concert hall shell can be moved on rails to blend with the auditorium halls to create the format of a traditional theatre. Screens on the backs of the seats display subtitles in multiple languages for international guests.
Karina was saying that she would like to return to Oman with Thomas and they would endeavour to see a play or concert at the Opera House.
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| The side entrance of the Opera House where the Sultan and royal family enter |
Next door there is a sophisticated shopping centre, with prices to match - Opera Galleria. We just looked at a couple of windows and left. Didn't take photos.
Muttrah Fish Market and Aroos Al Bahar Fish Restaurant
Lunch time looming and we caught a taxi to the Muttrah seafront. We first visited the modern looking Muttrah Fish Market. It had closed at 1pm, but next to it was the fruit and vegetable market and mini-markets and we wandered through it admiring the different varieties we don't get in Australia.
Across the street, we had lunch at Aroos Al Bahar Fish Restaurant. A simple restaurant, where you can choose the quantity of fresh fish, squid, prawns, etc, choose the side dishes, pay and then it gets cooked for you. There was seating inside, but we chose to seat in the courtyard.
The food was good and fresh, service was quick, but we ordered far too much!
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| The food we ordered - fish, prawns, squid (top right) |
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| Starters (always the amazing dips!), prawns and fish, squid a plate of chips |
Muttrah FortLuckily we could walk off the extra calories, to the Muttrah Fort, just over 1km away.
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| Blue mosque on the way to the fort |
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| Fort seen from the fish market |
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| #Muttrah fort |
The fort sits on the hills of Al Hajar mountains overlooking the Muttrah harbour, the "Sultan Qaboos Port".
It's thought to have been built in 1507AD, but modified and upgraded with towers and stronger walls by the Portuguese, during their occupation of Oman from 1507 to 1656. It is a small fort as its main function was for observation and defensive weapons. It just stretches along the hill with vantage points over the Muttrah corniche, harbour and rocky mountains surrounding the city.
We climbed about 250 steps (counted it then, but forgot!), well maintained and with a handrail, and there are various levels where you can rest and enjoy different views.
A stop at the Fort Cafe just before going up to the tower
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| Another tower in another part of the mountain seen from the fort |
Coming down from the fort...
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| Jose and Karina going down from the fort |
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| Karina at the Muttrah sign with the fort above at sunset |
Muscat Plaza Hotel
Back to the hotel and Karina and I still had time for a quick dip in the hotel pool on the top floor of the hotel. Jose wasn't feeling too well - too much of the strong coffee or too much food... so he stayed in bed resting.
The hotel pool and view from the top of the hotel over the suburb and mountains
Dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hotel
Karina felt like having a glass of wine with a nice meal, and because alcohol can only be sold in hotels and certain restaurants, we decided to take a taxi to have dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, just 3,5km away.
Jose only ate a soup, I had a prawn curry and Karina had Nasi Goreng. Dessert was cheesecake and tiramisu.
Maybe because we already got to the hotel at 9pm, but not many people were in the hotel restaurant. The food was good, service was 5 stars, we basically had 1 waiter just for us. The room looked a bit dark and outdated, I noticed it was next to the pool, so used as the breakfast room/buffet room.
To avoid paying for a premium taxi (because of the 5 star hotel), when we left the hotel we walked a few hundred metres down the road and then Karina ordered a taxi to take us to our hotel.
