Visiting Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat – all you need to know
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is the most popular place to visit in Muscat. And no wonder. Its architecture, scale and atmosphere are a heady mix that leaves a lasting impression on worshippers and tourists alike.
I was lucky to visit a number of times with my family and visiting friends. Here’s what you need to know before going yourself including when it is open to tourists, what to wear and some amazing facts about this extraordinary place of worship.
But before the good stuff, I’d like to thank you for visiting Oman Wanderlust and also encourage you to join our Facebook group Oman Unpacked. It’s a community to get even more personal recommendations from visitors and expats who love Oman.
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When was Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque built?
This incredible place of worship was a gift to the people of Oman by the last Sultan whose name it bears.
It is a work of art that took six years to build starting in 1996. When it was opened by the Sultan in 2001 it boasted the largest handmade carpet in the world and the biggest chandelier.
The UAE and Qatar have now snatched both titles, but this in no way diminishes the awe-inspiring spectacle of this mosque. It has to be seen to be believed.
The design is overwhelmingly Arabic but there are influences and materials from around the world.
Alongside Omani granite and marble, 30,000 tonnes of Indian sandstone were used in the mosque’s construction. The chandelier was made in Italy as were the stained glass windows along the walls of the mens prayer room.
The mosque also has a more modest prayer room for women. It is smaller because traditionally women pray at home. It is mainly used on Fridays, which is the Islamic holy day.
There are male and female wash rooms that each worshiper visits before they go to pray. They use cold water to wash their faces, including their mouths and noses, their hands, arms and feet.
10 facts about Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
My eldest daughter loves facts – so do I – and there are some epic ones about the Grand Mosque in Muscat.
Fact 1
The Grand Mosque was a gift to the people of Oman from the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said. All Muslims can pray here and anyone of any religion or none can visit.
Fact 2
The Sultan Qaboos Mosque was built over six years. There was a design competition to decide what it would look like and it has won several international design awards since opening.
Throughout the Grand Mosque you’ll see walls, floors doors and ceilings decorated with geometric and floral designs. Look closely and you’ll also see Arabic script adorning the building.
These are verses from the Qur’an.
Fact 3
The Grand Mosque’s 90 metre minaret is the tallest structure in Oman. No other building is higher. However, in 2025 a 126 metre flagpole was unveiled in the Ministries District in Al Khuwair. This is now the tallest man-made structure in Oman.
The mosque has five minarets in total, representing the five pillars of Islam:
- faith in one God
- prayer
- almsgiving
- fasting during Ramadan
- and pilgrimage.
Fact 4
The chandelier in the main prayer room is eight metres in diameter and 14 metres high – that’s as big as a two-storey house.
Fact 5
The chandelier is decorated with 600,000 Swarovski crystals and 1,122 light bulbs. A crane is used to clean them.
Fact 6
The central dome rises 50 metres above the men’s prayer hall.
Fact 7
The mihrab (the alcove that indicates the direction of Mecca) in the mens prayer hall has a secret door on either side. These are what the Imam (the prayer leader) uses to reach the front of the hall and the minbar where he stands to deliver the sermon.
Fact 8
The Iranian carpet in the main prayer hall took 600 women four years to weave and weighs 21 tonnes.
Fact 9
The main prayer room can hold 6,500 men, while the women’s prayer room can hold 750. Overall, 20,000 people can come to the mosque to pray indoors and out.
Fact 10
The Grand Mosque is also a place for learning. It has a library with more than 23,000 books about Islamic culture, natural science, art and philosophy.
If you have children who like activities when visiting places, here’s some things for them to do while at the Grand Mosque including a spotter sheet to download.
Tips for visiting
Here are some more handy things to know to aid and enrich your visit:
Guides at the mosque
We hired a guide inside the mosque to get the full story. He was full of facts, ready to answer questions and enthusiastic to take our picture in all the popular vantage points.
We visited the Islamic Centre after our tour where we were offered water, coffee and dates while learning about Islam. They have a range of free books exploring the religion that you are encouraged to take away.
The Islamic Centre which is on the left inside the Mosque complex as you walk in.
How much does it cost to visit the Grand Mosque?
It is free to visit Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque.
However, please note that this may change at short notice. For a three week period in January 2025 a 8.400 OMR entrance charge was introduced and then later withdrawn.
If you are a Muslim coming to pray outside the tourist visiting hours there is never a charge.
Dress code when visiting the mosque
Men and women must wear conservative clothing when visiting the mosque, more so for women.
Men need to wear long trousers and a shirt with at least short sleeves. Women must wear loose, non-see through clothing that covers the whole of their arms, legs and chest. They must also cover their hair, so bring a scarf.
Our daughters (aged seven and 10 during our first visit) did not need head scarfs but we made sure they wore clothes that covered their arms and legs. This is sensible in the sun anyway.
If you do arrive in clothes that don’t meet these requirements you will be required to hire an abaya, head scarf or dishdasha at the shop at the mosque entrance. There are guards at the entrance who will look you up and down to check your outfit.
Tip: wear shoes that are easy to remove. You’ll need to take them off to enter the prayer halls. There are shoe racks around the entrances to both the mens and woman’s prayer rooms.
When is the Grand Mosque open?
You can look around between 8am and 11am Saturday to Thursday, even during Ramadan. Allow at least an hour and a half for your visit.
You might also like to check out our tips for visiting Oman during Ramadan. It’s the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and the dates change every year so it’s important to know when it is and what to expect.
Eating, drinking and smartphones
It’s not permitted to eat, drink or use your smartphone for phone calls in the prayer rooms. You can take smartphone pictures.
Where is Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque?
How to get there
The Grand Mosque is situated in Al Ghurbah South – a 15 minute drive from Muscat International Airport. A lot of Oman tours will make it their first stop because of this.
If you take a taxi from the airport or your accommodation make sure they use their meter or you agree the fare before you set off. Taxis aren’t cheap but you will find lots of them about.
If you want to use public transport bus route 12 stops on the N1 highway within a 10 minute walk of the mosque. Find connections on the Moovit App.
More things to do in Muscat
For something completely different, take a look at my full guide to things to do in Muscat including places to see in the old town of Muttrah and where to stay cool like Snow Oman in the Mall of Oman.
More reading about visiting Oman
Got a bit of time to explore? Take a look at our recommended things to do in Oman.
Here’s some more popular places we’ve been:
- Bimmah Sinkhole
- Wadi Shab
- Wadi Tiwi
- Wadi Bani Khalid
- Oman Across the Ages Museum
- The Suwgra mountain village
And here are my latest blog posts:
