Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan Mosque

    
     Today was one of the first clear days since I have arrived.  The humidity level is down and Wendy, Rosalee and I decided that it was the perfect day to visit the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.  I had driven past the mosque multiple times and the sheer magnitude of it from a distance was very impressive.  The view up close was even better.

        Upon researching the Grand Mosque, I had read that woman were supposed to wear a floor length dress with arms completely covered.  I chose to abide by the rules and wore the appropriate attire, only to find out that you have to wear an abbeya (black cloak) and a shayla (head covering).  I was always curious about the comfort and breathability of these items.  Well, I found the answer. 

I was still showing a little skin!

  First, I was taken to a seperate dressing room from the men and entered a very busy room.  Two women were busy handing out abbeya and fitting the shayla to the westerners heads.  We were absolutely clueless and it was quite surprising that we needed to wear this attire.


     At 10:00 sharp, the free tour began.  Our tour guide was great and she spoke wonderful English.  The tour started outside, where we learned about the design of the mosque, materials used, and time taken to complete the project.  As I was listening to an earful of information, I was highly distracted by the heat and sweat pouring down my back.  I realized that the abbeya acts like an oven and I was cooking inside.  It definetly does not breathe very well and the heat could not escape my head.  I was relieved when I was able to go into the mosque and have my bare feet touch the cool floor and air con in my face. 

   
 The inside of the mosque is gorgeous and very large.  The project was thought of by the late Sheikh Zayed - the "father" of the UAE.  It holds up to 40,000 worshippers and has more than 80 marble domes on its roofline.  The main prayer hall houses the world's largest Persian carpet, which took 2000 craftsman two years to complete.  The main dome’s outer shell measures 32.8 metres in diameter and stands at a height of 55 meters from the inside and approx. 85 metres from the outside - the largest of its kind.
  



     The Mosque has just over one thousand (1,000) columns in its outer areas which are clad with more than 20,000 marble panels inlaid with semi-precious stones, including lapis lazuli, red agate, amethyst, abalone shell and mother of pearl. The 96 columns in the main prayer hall are round in shape and inlaid with mother of pearl.

      The Qibla wall, on the other hand, is 23 metres high and 50 metres wide, and is subtly decorated so as not to distract worshippers from prayer. The 99 names (qualities) of Allah are featured on the Qibla wall using traditional Kufi calligraphy and are subtly back-illuminated using fibre-optic lighting. Twenty-four carat gold, gold leaf and gold glass mosaic were also used in the mehrab (the niche found in the middle of the Qibla wall) and the crescents topping the domes.

 

     I was most impressed by the world's largest chandelier, weighing over 9 tonnes and has thousands of Swavorski crystals.  Also, the main door weighs 2.2 tonnes.
 











After the tour, you are able to ask any question to the tour guide.  I was even was able to talk one on one with her.  I would recommend this site to anyone.