UAE: Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Masjid Sheikh Zayed / Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Located just outside the capital of UAE, Abu Dhabi, and about an hour's drive from Dubai, Masjid Sheikh Zayed is the largest mosque in the UAE and the 8th largest in the world. It's named after the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan, the founder and the first President of the UAE. It occupies a site the size of 5 football fields, and can accommodate about 40,000 worshippers at any one time.

Visitors are greeted by a myriad of columns and domes when they first enter the Masjid area

Believe it or not, there are about 1,000 columns along the foyers that surround the Masjid's open "courtyard"

The design inside of one of the domes in the foyer. In total the Masjid has about 80 domes

The outer entrance into the Masjid's 17,000 square meter courtyard. View from the courtyard to the outside. The courtyard by the way can accommodate about 23,000 worshippers

The main entrance into the Masjid which would bring you into the main entrance hall

The main entrance hall area wall is decorated with beautiful inlaid floral designs

The door which leads you into the main prayer hall, also adorned with inlaid floral designs

This is the main prayer hall. The 99 names of Allah are featured on the Qibla wall using traditional calligraphy and are subtly back-illuminated using fibre-optic lighting. The main prayer hall by the way also features the world’s largest hand-woven Persian carpet at over 7,000 square metres.

The inside of the main dome

The Swarovski-crystals chandelier, which hangs from the main dome of the Masjid, _was_ the biggest in the world (measuring 10 metres in diameter, 15 metres in height, and eight-to-nine tonnes in weight) at one point of time before the title was taken over another chandelier in Doha, Qatar. 

The view from across the courtyard under the outer entrance

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Further Information: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre has a wealth of information about the mosque on its site, and if you're planning to visit this beautiful mosque, the centre conducts a complimentary guided walk-in tour several times a day at fixed times although these times may change from time to time throughout the year to avoid prayer times. Going to UAE? Do check out these UAE hotels for your accommodation requirements there. For other www.RambleAndWander.com postings on the UAE, click here.