Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is the most well-liked place to go to in Muscat. And no surprise. Its structure, scale and ambiance are a heady combine that leaves a long-lasting impression on worshippers and vacationers alike. However can you may go to Sultan Qaboos Mosque with youngsters?
That is all the time on the entrance of my thoughts once we go to iconic locations the place vigorous or grumpy children are the very last thing anybody desires to see. Or so us guilt-ridden dad and mom inform ourselves.
We visited Oman’s largest mosque on the finish of our seven day street journey across the north west of the nation.
Right here’s our expertise there with a ten and eight-year-old together with some ideas for going your self.
Can youngsters go to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque?
Earlier than we arrived on the Grand Mosque I’d performed a little bit of analysis about visiting with youngsters.
From what I’d learn elsewhere youngsters might go to. Nonetheless, children beneath the age of 10 weren’t allowed within the prayer halls the place among the most spectacular options may be seen.
So I wasn’t certain how a lot we’d get out of our go to.
Nonetheless, once we arrived our information informed us that the rule about youngsters beneath 10 solely utilized throughout prayer occasions.
So, in case you are there to go to fairly than pray, youngsters can go into the Grand Mosque’s prayer rooms and all over the place else that’s open to guests.
Profiting from your go to the Grand Mosque in Muscat
We’re a household of agnostics – we very a lot sit on the fence about God – however in the case of experiencing locations of faith and the artistry round totally different beliefs and cultures we’re followers.
Throughout our travels we’ve wandered across the gothic grandeur of Catedral de Barcelona in Catalonia, marvelled at Luke Jerram’s Gaia at Exeter Cathedral and admired the work of Di Vinci, Botticelli and Raffaello within the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
All are unimaginable spectacles that we wholeheartedly advocate.
Nonetheless we all know that as adults we interact with these locations differently to our women. Particularly after they have been toddlers and pre-schoolers.
So, how will we deliver these locations to life for them?
Previously we’ve performed this with the assistance of household tour guides, participating in children crafting actions alongside exhibitions, utilizing path sheets or developing with our personal record of issues to identify.
The Grand Mosque in Muscat doesn’t provide this stuff, however that doesn’t imply it’s best to draw back from it in case you are visiting Oman with children.
To assist I’ve put collectively a free spotter sheet that you would be able to obtain earlier than your go to in addition to some details to share along with your youngsters and different actions to maintain them entertained.
10 details for youths about Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
My eldest daughter loves details – so do I – and there are some epic ones concerning the Grand Mosque in Muscat.
Share these 10 details concerning the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque to pique your children’ curiosity earlier than your go to:
Reality 1
The Grand Mosque was a present to the individuals of Oman from the late Sultan Qaboos bin Mentioned. All Muslims can pray right here and anybody of any faith or none can go to without spending a dime.
Reality 2
The Sultan Qaboos Mosque was constructed over six years. There was a design competitors to determine what it might appear like and it has received a number of worldwide design awards since opening.
Reality 3
The Grand Mosque’s 90 metre minaret is the tallest construction in Oman. No different constructing is increased.
Reality 4
The chandelier in the principle prayer room is eight metres in diameter and 14 metres excessive – that’s as huge as a two-storey home.
Reality 5
The chandelier is adorned with 600,000 Swarovski crystals and 1,122 mild bulbs. A crane is used to wash them.
Reality 6
The central dome rises 50 metres above the lads’s prayer corridor.
Reality 7
The mihrab (the alcove that signifies the course of Mecca) within the mens prayer corridor has a secret door on both aspect. These are what the Imam (the prayer chief) makes use of to succeed in the entrance of the corridor and the minbar the place he stands to ship the sermon.
Reality 8
The Iranian carpet in the principle prayer corridor took 600 girls 4 years to weave and weighs 21 tonnes.
Reality 9
The principle prayer room can maintain 6,500 males, whereas the ladies’s prayer room can maintain 750. Total, 20,000 individuals can come to the mosque to hope indoors and out.
Reality 10
The Grand Mosque can also be a spot for studying. It has a library with greater than 23,000 books about Islamic tradition, pure science, artwork and philosophy.
If you wish to share extra details about Islam along with your youngsters Twinkl has some nice free and subscription sources about Islam.
Actions to do along with your children on the Grand Mosque in Muscat
Right here’s some actions to do along with your youngsters as you discover to maintain them engaged and entertained:
Rely the minarets
Spoiler alert: there are 5. The mosque’s towers characterize the 5 pillars of Islam:
- religion in a single God
- prayer
- almsgiving
- fasting throughout Ramadan
- and pilgrimage.
Spot script from the Qur’an
All through the Grand Mosque you’ll see partitions, flooring doorways and ceilings adorned with geometric and floral designs. Look intently and also you’ll additionally see Arabic script adorning the constructing.
These are verses from the Qur’an.
Don’t step on a crack
You could possibly problem your youngsters to fastidiously step from one marbled flooring tile to the subsequent with out standing on the be part of.
Copy your favorite sample
There are many shady spots within the grounds of the Grand Mosque the place you would sit with some pencils and paper to recreate one of many patterns you’ve noticed on the carpet, within the mosaics or on the exteriors of the buildings.
A spot to do that with patterns in entrance of you is beneath the coated stroll methods down all sides of the mosque complicated.
Discover out extra about Islam
One other place to sit and replicate is the Islamic Centre which is on the left contained in the Mosque complicated as you stroll in.
There’s a group of volunteers right here who will reply any questions your youngsters could have concerning the mosque or Islam.
They’re extraordinarily welcoming to individuals of all faiths and can give you water, espresso and dates.
Search for
Lastly, trying up is all the time a should while you go to locations of worship and the Grand Mosque is not any exception.
Among the best spots to do that is within the males’s prayer corridor straight beneath the chandelier.
FREE Grand Mosque spotter sheet
Right here’s a spotter sheet that I’ve put collectively together with among the options, supplies and factors of curiosity you’ll see.
Obtain it earlier than you go to the Grand Mosque.
Extra useful issues to learn about Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Right here’s some extra details about Muscat’s Grand Mosque to complement your go to:
When was Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque constructed?
This unimaginable place of worship was a present to the individuals of Oman by the final Sultan whose title it bears.Â
It’s a murals that took six years to construct beginning in 1996. When it was opened by the Sultan in 2001 it boasted the most important handmade carpet on the earth and the most important chandelier.Â
The UAE and Qatar have now snatched each titles, however this by no means diminishes the awe-inspiring spectacle of this mosque. It needs to be seen to be believed.
The design is overwhelmingly Arabic however there are influences and supplies from all over the world.
Alongside Omani granite and marble, 30,000 tonnes of Indian sandstone have been used within the mosque’s development. The chandelier was made in Italy as have been the stained glass home windows alongside the partitions of the mens prayer room.
The mosque additionally has a extra modest prayer room for girls. It’s smaller as a result of historically girls pray at residence. It’s primarily used on Fridays, which is the Islamic holy day.
There are female and male wash rooms that every worshiper visits earlier than they go to hope. They use chilly water to scrub their faces, together with their mouths and noses, their arms, arms and toes.
Guides on the mosque
We employed a information contained in the mosque to get the total story. He was filled with details, able to reply questions and enthusiastic to take our image in all the favored vantage factors.
We visited the Islamic Centre after our tour the place we have been supplied water, espresso and dates whereas studying about Islam. They’ve a spread of free books exploring the faith that you’re inspired to remove.
How a lot does it price to go to the Grand Mosque?
There’s no cost to enter and also you don’t have to pay for a information. If they’ve time, the volunteers within the Islamic Centre can take you on a tour without spending a dime.
Gown code when visiting the mosque
Women and men have to put on clothes that absolutely covers legs and arms. Girls should additionally cowl their hair, so deliver a shawl.
In case you do arrive in garments that don’t meet these necessities you may rent an abaya on the store on the entrance.
Put on sneakers which might be simple to take away. You’ll have to take them off to enter the prayer halls. There are shoe racks across the entrances to each the mens and girl’s prayer rooms.
When is the Grand Mosque open?
You possibly can go searching between 8am and 11am Saturday to Thursday, even throughout Ramadan. Permit at the least an hour and a half for you go to.
Consuming, ingesting and smartphones
It’s not permitted to eat, drink or use your smartphone for cellphone calls within the prayer rooms. You possibly can take smartphone photos.
The place is Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque?
The right way to get there
The Grand Mosque is located in Al Ghurbah South – a 15 minute drive from Muscat Worldwide Airport. A whole lot of Oman excursions will make it their first cease due to this.
In case you take a taxi from the airport or your lodging agree the fare earlier than you set off. Taxis aren’t low-cost however one can find a number of them about.
If you wish to use public transport bus route 12 stops on the N1 freeway inside a ten minute stroll of the mosque. Discover connections on the Moovit App.
Extra studying about visiting Oman with children
Obtained a little bit of time to discover Oman with children? Right here’s some extra fashionable locations we’ve been:
