Through the 1700s and later, Lawatiyya quickly developed an impressive trade industry in the local Matrah port, selling everything from incense to jewelry. They even began to occupy their own quarter of the harbor called Sur al-Lawatiyya (sur meaning enclosure), which was constructed into beautiful aqua tiled town houses that have been preserved to this day. Many wealthy Lawati families have moved out to suburban areas, but the mosque in Matrah remains the principle Shia mosque for Oman. In the past, religious leaders of the mosque have been recruited from Iran, Iraq, and Bahrain.