On Saturday morning, after a great breakfast prepared by Malcolm, we set off to see a few of the sights of Abu Dhabi… Our first stop was the Sheik Zayed Mosque, which I had glimpsed on my way into the city the afternoon before… I had thought it a pretty impressive structure from the highway that I zoomed past on, and on arrival at the mosque, had my first impression more than confirmed…!!
The massive, awe-inspiring Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi...
The main entrance to the inner courtyard...
A string of water features or "Reflective Pools" as they are known, surround the complex...
Named after the first president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who is known as the father of the U.A.E. , and is buried near the main entrance, the complex is completely clad in white Bianco marble, mined and imported from Italy and Greece.
It mosque rises up like a beacon of bright light from the flat desert floor…
Surrounded by a multitude of highways and byways that lead into the city, it covers an area of over 22 000 square metres, and holds more than 40 000 worshipers…!!
The Inner courtyard holds 40 000 worshippers...!!
The colonaded archways that surround the inner courtyard...
Malcolm and Elspeth Wrigley, my Abu Dhabi hosts, who doubled as guides as well...!!
Elspeth models the latest in Middle Eastern Dress and Footwear...
It is the 8th largest mosque in the world, and is a mixture of Moroccan and Turkish design…
Building of the complex began in 1999, after more than a decade of planning and fine-tuning…
It was inaugurated in December 2007, having taken over 120 000 cubic metres of concrete, 30 000 tons of steel and more than 115 000 square metres of marble tiles…
The cost…? A staggering R4 000 000 000…!! That’s four billion rand, for those who are confused by long rows of zero’s…!!
We walked around the outer perimeter to get to entrance where Elspeth could change into a burkha and hijab, which is required by all women visitors who intend entering the mosque itself…
There are more than a thousand columns in the outer passages, and each has been inlaid with semi-precious stones such as agates, amethyst, mother of pearl and Lapis lazuli...
Suitably attired, we wandered into the huge Sahan, or courtyard, whose marble floor is inlaid with intricate floral designs, all 17 000 square metres of it…!!
We waited for the prayer service to end before entering the mosque through the massive glass doors, which are 12 metres high and seven metres wide…
My first impression was that the inside of the mosque did not live up to the expectations I had having already been overawed by the design of its exterior…!!
Whoever was in charge of the interior decorating, should be hung by the ankles form the outside walls…and perhaps be introduced to a prolonged bout of gentle flogging…!!
There is such a clash of colour, that it left my mind a little blank for awhile…
I think the biggest disappointment was the huge chandeliers that hung from the ceilings of the three main domes, the one in the centre being the largest in the world, and weighs 9 tons…!!
Made from thousands of Swarovski crystals and Italian glasswork, at a cost of almost R60 million, the chandeliers look like the contents of a Smartie box being emptied… Despite the enormous cost, they have that “cheap and nasty” look about them… A real “fist in the eye” as a friend of mine would say…!!
Inside the mosque, multiple sets of columns rise up to the many domes that make up the ceiling...
The beautiful design of the mosque itself is somewhat spoilt by the garish chandeliers that hang from the vaulted ceilings...
Sweeties raining down...??
The carpet, impressive as it is for its sheer size, is a kaleidoscope of colours that made me feel as if I had blundered into an amphetamine-laced dream of some kind…!!
It is the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet, and was made in the small village of Mashadin in Iran. At one point, more than 1 200 weavers were working on the carpet, using almost two and a half billion knots to weave the entire piece together…!! It weighs forty seven tons…!! That’s a lot of carpet in anybody’s language, Dudes…!!
The largest hand knotted carpet in the world...!! A mere 5 627 square metres of it...!!
Proof positive, that on the 11th of February, in the year 1432, the Gypsy Biker visited the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi...
View across the courtyard to the doors of the mosque....
Back outside, the bright sunlight reflecting from the white marble had me reaching for my sunglasses again, and after Elspeth had handed back her latest fetching outfit, we left the mosque, walking past the last reflecting pool still under construction…
The glare from the white marble was responsible for the tanned look I am sporting...!!
For its sheer size and external beauty, my visit to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque has so far been the highlight of my stay in the Emirates, and one that I would recommend to anybody visiting this part of the world…
Two of the four minarets, situated on the opposite corners of the main sqaure...
Jaw-droppingly impressive...!!
©GBWT 2011
Wow that is impressive!! Pity you could not go to Morocco, the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is also quite impressive and the chandeliers in that one doesn’t look like Smarties! They are stunning!
Have to agree with you that Malcom is the king of breakfast fry ups!
Travel safe!!
What do they always say – “bigger is better”, I take it that is definitely true in Abu Dhabi!!!!
I like the top date on the Sheikh Zayed Mosque thinggy, this was witness to my 21st times 2!!! While I was celebrating my 42nd birthday you were touching stones that I should have had in my presents.
At least with Malcolm around we know you will be eating more than a snacker bar!!!
Enjoy and BIG kisses
K
Wow ! The nearest I was in Abu Dhabi was when our plane
refueling at the airport , shuttled in a bus 200 meters to the
terminal on our way to Mauritius. ( Honeymoon jan. 2009 ).
To watch this on a i-Phone is ridicolous , have to see it on
my own eyes !!