Great Friday Mosque - Oman

The Great Friday Mosque is part of the archaeological site of the city of Qalhat, which is the second largest city in the ancient Kingdom of Hormuz, and dates back to around the 13th century, in the Sultanate of Oman. It was discovered during the archaeological excavation directed by Axelle Rougeulle (CNRS) between 2008 and 2016, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture of the Sultanate of Oman and carried out by the company Eveha International (Limoges, France). The conservation project of the entire site was managed by the World Monuments Fund (New York, USA). The preserved parts of the Mosque consist of the outer courtyard, the prayer hall, with the remains of the minbar and the mirhab and the corridors and rooms below. There are also numerous remains of collapsed columns and pillars lying on the ground. As the site is located a few meters from the sea, it suffers all the consequences of the degradation of an artifact exposed to the marine environment, with prolonged exposure to solar radiation, sudden temperature changes and the rare but consistent sudden rains that sometimes cause heavy floods. Our intervention consisted in consolidating and securing all the plasters, stucco decorations and glazed tiles still present on the walls of the prayer hall and the corridors and rooms below.
(Photo by C.Vazio)