Times of Oman
 
Salalah, Jul 11: Sultan Qaboos Mosque was opened in the wilayat of Salalah in Dhofar governorate yesterday.

Assigned by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Sayyid Ali bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, minister of the Diwan of Royal Court, presided over the inaugural ceremony in the presence of Sheikh Mohammed bin Marhoon Al Ma’amari, minister of state and governor of Dhofar, a number of members of the State Council and Majlis Al Shura, undersecretaries, sheikhs, dignitaries and citizens. Sayyid Ali performed the Jumah prayer at the mosque, which was built on a total area of 40,419sq. metres.

The mosque has four gates with ground floor occupying a total area of 7,360sq. metres and a prayer hall with 2,500 sq. metres. The prayer hall can accommodate 3,200 worshippers.

The dome at the centre of the main prayer area has a diameter of 15 metres and a height of 36 metres from the floor. The prayer area allocated for women occupies 267sq.metres and can accommodate 350 worshippers. The mosque also includes a library, four well-equipped classrooms, lecture halls for 160 persons and car parking areas among other utilities.