Sultan Qaboos mosque. (Mosaic).

The Omani ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, like all wise leaders, attaches great importance to his country's economic and social development. Over the past three decades he has transformed Oman from a sleepy desert backwater into the bustling vibrant country it is today. But while creating an atmosphere where business and commerce thrive, Sultan Qaboos has not neglected the spiritual and intellectual sides of his country's character, recognising that in order to ensure comprehensive, balanced development equal importance must be afforded to both the material and the spiritual aspects of life.

This integrated approach is illustrated by the fact that since the dawn of the renaissance period, which began with his accession to power in 1970, Sultan Qaboos has made provision for the construction of a number of large mosques at his personal expense. The first Sultan Qaboos Mosque was built in Ruwi, in the 1970s and followed by the construction of several others in other major Omani towns and cities.

As the capital of Muscat developed and its educated and prosperous population increased, Sultan Qaboos decided the time had come to build a Grand Mosque which could be a major landmark of Islamic architecture in the historic city.

A site was chosen for the mosque alongside the road that links Muscat's Seeb international airport with the heart of the capital. Work began on construction of the mosque in 1995 and was completed in March 2001, since when it has become a national landmark, combining the very essence of traditional and contemporary Islamic design and attracting many thousands of worshippers and fascinated visitors.

The site itself covers 416,000 sq metres with the mosque podium covering 40,000 sq metres. The main prayer hall has a capacity of over 6600, while the women's prayer hall can comfortably accommodate 750.

The outer sahn (courtyard) can hold 8000 people and, with additional capacity in the inner sahn and riwaqs (arched chambers), the mosque could accommodate 20,000 worshippers.

Every architectural element of the interior combines features of traditional Islamic arts and crafts, frequently in a contemporary manner. The outer walls are ornamented with engraved design, which include depictions of plants, as well as geometric shapes and Koranic verses in the Thuluth calligraphic script. The ornamentation gradually becomes more intense and elaborate as one proceeds towards the interior of the building and its inner sanctum.