Truth be told we were never
really interested in visiting mosques, and to be very clear it had nothing to
do with the issue of faith. Where we come from, apart from a few notable
exceptions we’ve often held the view if you’ve seen one mosque, you’ve seen
them all. Well, in Malaysia anyway.
We arrived just as the sun was
setting and its imposing size stood out as a large impressive silhouette in the
Abu Dhabi evening sky. In order to visit the mosque Cat had to change into a
brown abaya that the mosque authorities provided, something that quite plainly
tickled her pink. Apparently the smallest abaya was still too large for Cat,
and she spent the evening literally sweeping the floors here.
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| our first glimpse |
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| the very finest |
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| white marble |
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| from Greece and Italy |
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| as the sun sets |
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| on this magnificent structure |
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| 3rd largest in the world |
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| a true testament |
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| to a great head of state |
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| and founder of the UAE |
For non-Muslim visitors, the
visiting time is from 9:00AM to 10:00PM every day except for Friday mornings. Just
some fun facts about this magnificent mosque:
- The complex covers an area of
22,412 m2
- 33,000 tons of steel and 250,000
m3 of concrete were used; They lay on 6,500 foundation piles
- The courtyard has a total of
1,048 columns
- A total of 82 domes belong to the
mosque
- The main dome is the largest
mosque dome in the world: 85 metres high with a diameter of 32.8 metres.
- Some 41,000 worshippers can be
accommodated in the mosque while another 7,126 can pray in the main prayer hall
The mosque was finished with a
decoration of Greek and Italian white marble, which is considered to be among
the purest of the world.
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| very clear and precise |
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| the outer courtyard |
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| Brendan was enthralled with its reflection |
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| this was what he captured |
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| this too was Brendan's photo |
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| Sern getting in on the act |
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| worshipper and visitors alike |
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| started milling in |
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| large and imposing |
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| yet calm and soothing |
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| marvel of Arabic architecture |
The mosque's spectacularly
decorated interior features unique plants designed specifically for the mosque,
as well as verses from the Holly Quran. In addition, the designers have also
used mosaic to cover the entire courtyard (17,000 square metres) and thus it is
considered among the largest open spaces in mosques worldwide.
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| can you spot Cat? |
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| one of the many domes |
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| again, clear and concise |
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| view from the interior courtyard |
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| framed by the evening sky |
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| as the sun sets |
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| the mosque will change its hue |
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| from white to blue |
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| elegant |
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| spectacularly
decorated interior |
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| the path seems to go on forever |
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| intricate yet simple |
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| the sun slowly sets |
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| view of yet another dome |
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| from the inside looking out |
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| both worshippers and visitors welcomed warmly |
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| we weren't sure |
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| if there were more visitors than worshippers |
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| 17,000 square metres of courtyard covered in mosaic |
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| the pillars adorned with... |
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| motifs of unique plants |
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| designed specifically for the mosque |
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| can you spot Brendan? |
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| slowly turning from white to blue |
Major international companies
specialised in the manufacturing of crystal chandeliers garnished the mosque
with seven gold-plated chandeliers in different sizes, made of Swarovski
crystals. The largest of the lustres is the largest in the world.
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| we entered the bowels |
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| more spectacular sights |
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| one chandelier |
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| after another |
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| adn another |
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| adorning each large dome |
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| gold-plated
chandeliers |
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| different sizes |
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| made of Swarovski
crystals |
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| yup, you got that right... |
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| made of Swarovski
crystals! |
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| each chandelier |
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| 8 in all |
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| we could never get enough |
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| our necks were cramping up after a while |
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| a small price to pay, really |
After a good two hours we made our way out of the mosque, but not before a few last parting shots.
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| the white marble |
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| soon turned blue |
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| as we left the mosque |
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| the entire complex |
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| still captivated us |
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| even from afar |
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| as it illuminated the night sky |
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| walking away |
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| we couldn't tear our eyes away |
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| one |
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| two |
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| three more shots |
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| and a final shot |
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| as we headed to the parking lot |
Built as a monument to consolidate Islamic culture and a prominent centre for Islamic sciences and named after the founder and first President of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan this is the third largest mosque in the world - after the ones in Mecca and Madina in Saudi Arabia, and no wonder!
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