Good Day Travelers!
Today I want to share something very special with you guys - a post about the most impressive building I've ever seen! The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE. I went there about 2 months ago and I finally completed editing/sorting/preparing all my images of this trip. During the post I will talk about the history and all the details regarding the Mosque.
I'm not sure if you guys ever heard of this Mosque but it was a massive 500 Million USD project which construction took place from 1994 - 2007. The size of the building is 290 by 420m! So you can already image on how massive this Mosque is! Seeing this complex for the first time while driving past it really made me speechless and my eyes were as big as never before.
On the image below you get a small hint on the size of this Mosque:
Location, Tickets, Guides
The Mosque is located on the South-East side of the City. Because of the great infrastructure in Abu Dhabi it's also quite easy to access.
For the transportation you have a couple of options:
- Bus (Cheap, Easy to get around with)
- Uber/Taxi (Always and everywhere available, medium-high price range)
- Bicycles/E-Scooters (Cheap but I can't recommend it during the hot summer months)
Tickets - Visiting the Mosque is entirely free. As soon as you reach the entry (which is also a underground shopping mall) you need to go to the QR-Ticket machines where you fill out a few things on a touchscreen and print out your ticket. After that you just go on the opposite site through a security and ticket check and you are already in!
Guids - There are guides available but not really necessary as there are quite a lot of information signs around.
Opening Hours - It's opened daily from 9AM - 10PM except on Fridays where the Mosque only opens from 4:30PM - 10PM.
Clothing - Men should cover their knees and shoulders. The same for women + covering their hair.
Outer entrance of the Mosque
Let's start with the outside of the Mosque. As you can imagine - It's impossible to take images of the entire Mosque as its just to big! But I tried my best finding good angles and positions to show you the stunning outer design of the building.
You can already guess on the images - I went there during the sunset (For a several reasons) - First, the crazy heat way above 40°C makes it almost impossible to go their during the day. Second, to take the best possible pictures there with the best light conditions. I really loved the yellowish/pink sky and reflections during that time.
Inner Courtyard
To start with I give you some more information about the Mosque. The entire complex was designed by Yusef Abdelki who took his inspirations from Mosques in Pakistan and Alexandria. The supervision and guidance of the Mosque was led by the former president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who passed away in 2004 (He is now buried in the Mosques yard).
Let's come to the inner courtyard. Right at the entrance you can already spot the gigantic courtyard and trust me, you will be blown away by the enormes size.
I hope you guys can now imagine how big this Mosque actually is. Standing there by myself was even more impressive than seeing it now on the pictures. Another lucky thing was that the inner yard was closed so I had the chance to take some quite unique images without any people on the inner area.
Prayer Hall Interior
And if you think that was everything - Nope - there is another huge part coming. The interior was evenly impressive than the outside. I didn't think that's possible after seeing the stunning outside and inner yard but wow, I was wrong about that!
Not only is the worlds third biggest chandelier inside the mosque - There is also the biggest carpet ever made inside! It was made in Iran and its size is just unreal.
In total there are 7 massive chandeliers inside of the Mosque. They were produced by the German (Munich) factory Fausting and they incorporated Millions of Swarowvki Crystals! Also, the Mosque was build in a position where the light floats around the inside in a unique and special way. It's crazy to think on how many thoughts went into this construction!
In total the Mosque can accommodate over 40.000 worshipers were already 7000 of them can find space in the inner praying rooms. All that are such surreal numbers which are really hard to imagine if you haven't seen the size with your own eyes! :))
Do I recommend a visit to the Grand Mosque?
Well, I think that's pretty obvious - YES YES and YES! I've visited lots of Mosques around the world in the past years but this one is really one of a kind. The size, the architecture, the design, the used materials and just the general beauty on the in- and outside are just on another level.
I can easily recommend this Mosque to all types of travelers. I'm sure its fascinating for everyone who goes there!
I hope you guys enjoyed my little virtual tour! :))
Best,
Chris