Mosque Meanderings--Country Mosques

As you might guess, there are lots and lots of mosques in Oman and in the Middle East. They are strategically placed throughout communities for convenient access. They are all decorated a little differently and come in varying sizes. Whether you are Muslim or not (and I'm not!), there is beauty in the construction and design on each mosque and minaret. I am sharing some of my favorites here--and have been collecting pictures of mosques for over a year. I hope you enjoy this picture "book" of mosques...

For this blog, I'm including mosques in the outer areas, small towns outside of Muscat and in the countryside around Oman.

I liked this mosque for its unusual design on the domes.

Notice the unique minaret shape

This is a "mini-mosque" set in a cluster of houses.

Again, I liked the minaret and the blue colors on this one.

This is in a little seaside town, and it looks to be more minaret than anything else.

This mosque is still under construction,
but the minaret is striking.

This is on the sea  as well. I thought the minaret was very unusually shaped.

Striking and vibrant colors were used on this one.

This was a sparsely populated stretch of sand alongside the road, but they had built this
peach-trimmed mosque that was quite large. Can you see the Gulf of Oman behind it?

This mosque is associated with a fort (see tower on right next to the flag.)
 Can I say that the minaret reminds me of a rocket?

This mosque sits among the houses of a mountain village up high in the Jabal Akhdar area.

This mosque sits among a cluster of roadside shops along the highway between Muscat and Sohar.
This is very common as it is important for prayer rooms to be available as close to the people as possible.

Built right up against the mountain

Built in one of the oldest areas of Muscat near the Mutrah souk

Located in the Wahiba Sands area, where we went desert camping.