The Grand Mosque

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Hands down...the Grand Mosque is the most amazing building that I have ever seen. WOW. This mosque is still in the making - but when it is done will be able to hold 10,000 people at a time. The official name is the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque but it is known as the Grand Mosque -Sheikh Zayed is buried there. We were asked to remove our shoes, and women were asked to cover up with robes and head scarves (I am unsure of the official name of the attire). I was very impressed by how welcoming everyone was, my taxi driver told me that all people are welcome..."Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, whatever! All are welcome here!"

The artwork in the hall was unbelievable. There was stained glass, mosaics, stone floors with intricate designs, carved doorways and arches, beautiful carpets...it was almost overwhelming how beautiful it was. If I see nothing else on this trip - it won't matter. I'm pretty sure this is the coolest thing I will see in Abu Dhabi...the rest will just be gravy!

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Photos

The Grand Mosque
Photo from the outside...it's not yet complete and this photo doesn't even show the whole thing - my camera could only capture half of it!

Inside the mosque
This place was CRAZY impressive - check out the high tech plasma TV behind me!

Stained glass
This place was a dream for me...the artwork was outrageous. This light below me was a stained glass flower...one of MANY below the columns in the main hall.

Bare feet
The carpets were beautiful - I am so glad that the tradition is to remove your shoes before entering any mosque - especially this one!

Stone flowers on the wall
These walls were covered with massive stone-flower-mosaic-art...I'm not even sure what to call it. Love this!!!

The main prayer hall
There were 3 domes just like this one...it was a massive open space for worshippers to gather.

Arched hallway
This area was just behind the main building and leads to the massive open space outside.

Outdoor area
I'm not sure what this area is called, but it was about the size of a football field and is still under construction. The floors have a stone design with flowers and vines. Too cool!

Comments

[Stacie & Joe]

Camel
Where are the camel pictures?