The Grand Mosque

Yesterday we had the pleasure of visiting one of the most magnificent buildings in the UAE. We toured the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque.  We arrived for the 10AM tour and as we got out of the car the heat and humidity hit us hard.  My camera lens fogged up and I couldn't get a decent shot of the exterior of the mosque.

 This is one of two mosques that is open to the public, however you must follow the protocol out of respect for this massive house of worship.  Women must cover themselves from head to toe, shoes must be removed before you enter and pictures of the Koran (holy book) are not permitted.

The mosque is home to the world's largest one piece carpet.  The carpet weighs 47 tons and took 1,200 weavers to create it.  There are 7 chandeliers and the largest one in the main prayer room is created with 1 million Swarovski crystals.  The white marble can be found throughout the mosque and is said to help keep the interior cool.  There are handcrafted flowers that adorn the walls and columns.  The flowers are all created by laying separate pieces of colored marble together.  The flowers are representative of the varieties of flowers found in each of the hemispheres.

Muslims are called to prayer five times a day and a clock on the wall in the main prayer room displays the pray times for that given day as it changes daily.  On Friday mornings the mosque is closed to tours and tourists as it is the holy day for Muslims and they attend prayer service.

The mosque is named after the founder of the UAE nation, Sheikh Zayed and is his resting place since his death in 2004.  The mosque took 10 years to design and another 10 to build.  It opened in 2007. It is truly an impressive site.