sheik zayed grand mosque, abu dhabi

We set off at noon for the two hour drive to Abu Dhabi.  On both sides of the road, red sand peeked between the neat rows of irrigated palm trees.  Eventually, the green would yield to desert, then the green would arrive again and finally, stucco buildings.  When stucco becomes twisting modern architecture, you are in Abu Dhabi.

One of my highest priorities to see in the UAE was the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque.  The mosque was built by the former president of the UAE, Sheik Zayed.  It required 10 years of planning and 11 years to build.   It was completed in 2007, 3 years after Sheik Zayed, and construction of the surrounding gardens continues today.  From the 3 bridges that usher visitors into the city, 82 domes of the UAE's largest mosque immediately draw the eye (it's bigger than 4 football fields!).  In the mosque's main prayer hall, you can see the world's largest chandelier hanging from the main dome - it is 9 tons of clear, red, yellow and green Swarovski crystal.  On the floor is the world's largest carpet.  It took almost 2 years to hand-knot in Iran and was transported in 9 pieces to Abu Dhabi, where it was cut, assembled and shaved.  As you walk on the carpet, raised lines show where worshippers stand in rows during prayer.  Muslims pray in lines standing shoulder-to-shoulder and foot-to-foot to prevent Satan from getting into the spaces among people and disrupting their relationship with God.  Most spectacular was inlaid marble of every color, formed into flowers in a vestibule for the main prayer hall.  It represents the garden of heaven mentioned in the Koran (hope I'm remembering that correctly!).

World's largest chandelier

Women enter the mosque from a different doorway than men and are required to wear an abaya.  The black robe is made of a flowing rayon-polyester fabric and it slips over the head and trails on the floor.  It reminded me of putting on a long graduation robe.  Then a large scarf is wrapped around the head and neck, covering the hair.  It feels very flowing and sensuous to glide around in an abaya.  I actually quite liked it - especially inside the mosque, it enhanced the sense that you should be humble and reverent.  In addition to the abaya, prior to going inside the prayer halls, you must remove your shoes.  You walk across cool white marble, then through a 7 ton Murano glass door onto the carpeted prayer hall.  With the sensations on your feet and overall covering, it is quite easy to feel a heightened awareness that you are bringing your whole self to this holy place.  Very inspiring.

L to R:  Catherine (China), Kanako (Japan), me & Karen (US)
in our abayas

a "small" chandelier

Sheela & me in abayas

At night, the lighting of the mosque depends on the moon.  For a full moon, the domes are lighted white.  Then, for no moon, the dome lighting is dark blue, gradually becoming lighter and lighter blue as the moon becomes full.  We saw the mosque during a crescent moon, so the domes were light blue with strong white spotlights on the external courtyard.  Breathtaking! #ibmcsc uae