Yelena had football/soccer practice yesterday. Close to the field was this mosque. The color scheme (gold and dark green) is not one you see often. Personally I think it is so ugly that it becomes beautiful again... especially in the late afternoon sun.
I walked with open shoes over stones and rocks, but got the picture. If they play at the same location next week (the coach is looking for a more convenient location - this field is a little far out for most of the girls) I will put on closed shoes and take my big camera!
Beautiful capture. Great looking hills/mountains behind the mosque. I think the colours of the mosque and the surrounding landscape merge very well together.
You may have already talked about mosques, but I do have a couple of questions. Are they all the same religion? Do families build their own family mosque or are they built for whole cities and/or neighborhoods? Yes it does seem there are a lot of mosques where you are.
@louannwarren Good questions Lou Ann. I knew that mosque are just for one religion - the Islam, but after some Googling I learned that there are different schools/types. The main two are Sunnie and Shia Muslims.
However, most Omanis (about three-quarters of the country) belong to the Ibadi Muslim faith, although there are some Shia and Sunni Muslims as well. Oman is the only country in the Muslim world with an Ibadi-majority population.
I do not know a lot about the religion but reading about it and looking for differences between the Ibadi and other faiths, I noticed that they seem to be more open. With open I mean that they have a lot of respect for women and also other religions. Living here I can really see and appreciate that!
Every neighborhood has its own mosque.
I found an article that announced that at the end of 2017 there were 16004 registered mosques in Oman. If you take in account that there are approximately 5 million people here, then you know that it is really a lot!
Sultan Qaboos ordered the construction of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque (also a big tourist attraction) and was completed in 2001.
All mosques are for Muslims only, except the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, which is open to visitors on some days.
They are still building many mosques. Who are paying for the construction and how it exactly works I do not know at the moment. In the shopping malls are donation boxes where you can donate money for mosque construction. And there is always money in those boxes....
There is an Omani lady who sometimes joins us for the school hikes. She loves to talk about her culture and I have a lot of questions for her!
If I learn more, I will pass it on, but it might take a couple of weeks...
@ingrid01 oh my. Thank you so much, Ingrid. What an interesting narrative, it seems there’s always more to the story! So “a Mosque on every corner” is not that hard to believe. 😊
feels like it is taken on some far away and lesser-known country
However, most Omanis (about three-quarters of the country) belong to the Ibadi Muslim faith, although there are some Shia and Sunni Muslims as well. Oman is the only country in the Muslim world with an Ibadi-majority population.
I do not know a lot about the religion but reading about it and looking for differences between the Ibadi and other faiths, I noticed that they seem to be more open. With open I mean that they have a lot of respect for women and also other religions. Living here I can really see and appreciate that!
Every neighborhood has its own mosque.
I found an article that announced that at the end of 2017 there were 16004 registered mosques in Oman. If you take in account that there are approximately 5 million people here, then you know that it is really a lot!
Some mosques have been build by rich families. The Zawawi mosque, build by the Zawawi family, is an example ( http://365project.org/ingrid01/365/2020-11-24)
Sultan Qaboos ordered the construction of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque (also a big tourist attraction) and was completed in 2001.
All mosques are for Muslims only, except the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, which is open to visitors on some days.
They are still building many mosques. Who are paying for the construction and how it exactly works I do not know at the moment. In the shopping malls are donation boxes where you can donate money for mosque construction. And there is always money in those boxes....
There is an Omani lady who sometimes joins us for the school hikes. She loves to talk about her culture and I have a lot of questions for her!
If I learn more, I will pass it on, but it might take a couple of weeks...
I hope i will get to visit Oman someday soon :)