Al-Shawathna Mosque: A Historic Mosque in Nizwa, Oman
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.7
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Oman
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Omani
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Mosque
On this page6 sections
History
Al-Shawathna Mosque is a historic Islamic mosque in Nizwa, Oman, associated with the al-Aqr quarter and known locally as Masjid al-Qiblatayn, or the Mosque of the Two Qiblas. Local tradition dates its foundation to 629, seven years after the Hijra, and regards it as the second mosque built in Oman after Mithmar Mosque at Samail.
Early Foundation Traditions
The mosque is said to have taken its name from the Shathani tribe, which settled in the surrounding area. Another tradition places its original foundation in the seventh century and records a restoration in 729. Since mudbrick buildings require repeated maintenance and renewal, the precise date of the first construction cannot be established reliably.
The mosque’s earlier prayer direction was traditionally toward Jerusalem. It was later reconstructed toward Mecca, the direction used for Muslim prayer toward the Kaaba. The survival of these two directions in the mosque’s traditions accounts for its popular name, the Mosque of the Two Qiblas.
The Sixteenth-Century Mosque
The building seen today is associated with the sixteenth century, although its two prayer niches and general plan may preserve elements of a seventh-century predecessor. An inscription in the decorated prayer niche dates a major phase of work to 936 AH, or 1529 CE. It names the patrons who sponsored the work and identifies the craftsman as Isa ibn Abdullah ibn Yusuf.
Remains
Layout and Construction
Al-Shawathna Mosque has an irregular rectangular plan raised above street level. The prayer hall occupies the northern side, while an open courtyard, or sahn, extends to the south. The courtyard serves as the connecting space for the mosque, with ablution rooms opening onto it.
A narrow staircase leads to the terraced courtyard and then to the prayer hall. Three portals give access to the mosque, corresponding to three longitudinal internal zones separated by pillars. Inside the hall, two rows of pointed arches supported by four columns divide the space into three aisles. The hall has a flat roof, and its long axis lies roughly perpendicular to the west-facing qibla wall.
Prayer Niches and Stucco Decoration
The mosque has two mihrabs, niches that indicate the direction of prayer. One richly ornamented niche faces Mecca, while the other faces Jerusalem, preserving the memory of the mosque’s change in prayer direction. The walls are generally undecorated apart from these prayer niches.
The principal decorated mihrab forms a large rectangular composition of carved stucco in the western wall of the prayer hall. Its geometric and highly stylized plant motifs are arranged in several zones. Above the central concave niche, an inscription is written in Naskhi, a rounded style of Arabic calligraphy. Five white-and-blue Chinese porcelain bowls are set into the stucco between the niche and the inscription.
A slightly inclined upper frieze carries the shahada in large Kufic script, an angular form of Arabic calligraphy used for monumental decoration. The stucco was made with saruj, a traditional waterproof mortar, and incorporates ceramic basins or bowls, including Chinese examples. Ceramic-inlaid mihrab decoration also appears in other Omani mosques of the period and is attested earlier in East Africa.
