Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque

he mosque is built from 300,000 tonnes of Indian sandstone. The main musalla or prayer hall is square and 74.4 by 74.4 metres (244 by 244 feet) with a central dome rising to a height of 50 metres (160 ft) above the floor.[4] The dome and the main minaret (90 metres (300 ft)) and four flanking minarets (45.5 metres (149 ft)) are the mosque’s chief visual features. The main musalla can hold over 6500 worshippers, while the women's musalla can accommodate 750 worshipers. The outer paved ground can hold 8000 worshipers and there is additional space available in the interior courtyard and the passageways, making a total capacity of up to 20,000 worshipers.[5] The mosque is built on a site occupying 416,000 m2 (4,480,000 sq ft)and the complex extends to cover an area of 40,000 m2 (430,000 sq ft). The newly built Grand Mosque was inaugurated by Sultan of Oman on May 4, 2001 to celebrate 30 years of his reign. This hand-woven carpet was produced by Iran Carpet Company (ICC) at the order of the Diwan of the Royal Court of Sultanate. The carpet measures over 70 by 60 metres (230 by 200 feet), and covers the 4,343 m2 (46,750 sq ft) area of the praying hall. The chandelier above the praying hall is 14 metres (46 feet) tall and was manufactured by the Italian company Faustig. Since the mosque is 90 metres (300 feet) high, the chandler looks proportional, but it used to be the world's largest chandelier

Mutrah Souq

Many people come to Mutrah Corniche just to visit the souq, which preserves the chaotic interest of a traditional Arab market even if it is housed under modern wooden roofs. The shops that sell Indian and Indian artifacts and some antique dealers are crowded among the most traditional fabric, hardware and jewelery stores. Bargaining is provided even if the discounts tend to be small. The cards are generally accepted in most shops, but they bring money in exchange for better offers in euros and dollars. The main entrance is through the Corniche, opposite the pedestrian traffic light. The main attraction of Muttrah is the famous Souk Muttrah, probably the most popular tourist attraction in the country. This is Muscat in its most magical form: a deafening labyrinth of narrow and fragrant alleys full of colorful little shops stacked with incense and bukhoor trays, old silver khanjars, Bedu jewels and other exotic paraphernalia - one of the few markets in the world where you can buy gold, frankincense and myrrh under one roof. You could spend many pleasant hours here, bargaining for crafts and trying to make sense of the maze, especially if you venture far from the heavily toured main road to the perched streets. The souk can be somewhat misleading at first sight: it is much larger and much more confusing than one might initially suspect. Heading from the main entrance onto the corniche, it is possible to cross the souk in less than five minutes, following the main artery that bisects the area from north to south. This stretch - more lively after dark - is where you'll find the most touristic (and expensive) shops in the souk, flanked by well-restored old buildings under a wooden roof and crowded with an eclectic mix of Omanis clothes and coaches left. In reality, this is only a small part of the overall complex, which continues for a considerable distance on both sides, especially to the west. Turn right from the main street and, if you know where you are going, you can go back to the Muttrah Gold Souk, the building that faces the corniche a couple of hundred meters west of the main entrance of the souk, passing through a charming series of alleys full of gold and silver jewels along the way. Other alleys branch out in every direction, flanked by more and more rough shops and in the end they shoot you from the souk or return to the corniche or in the tangle of secondary streets and alleys that wind in the area behind Sur al Lewatia