While I was staying in Dubai earlier this year I really wanted to also explore Abu Dhabi as I had seen many pictures of the famous mosque (built by the late ruler Sheikh Zayed of the UAE) there which looks just so dreamy. The mosque is open to people of any religion and is a beautiful place to learn more about each other. I think it is super important to learn about other religions since many of this world’s problems could probably be avoided if we all exuberated a tad more mutual understanding! So I headed out to explore this beautiful place and am now sharing this experience with you here.
Arriving at the Sheikh Zayed mosque is already very impressive. Driving over from Dubai you pass a road which consists of mainly desert for the largest part. Arriving at the huge, white building which reflects the sun brightly you almost feel blinded coming from the desert. I did not imagine the mosque to be quite this large as well to be honest. Even all the trees and flowers surrounding it are perfectly shaped and align around the parking spots. Entering you have to cover up and are quickly checked for security reasons. Then you are good to go and enter the complex. It truly felt like you emerged in a fairy tale of „One Thousand and One Nights“. A water pool surrounds the outer walls of the building, this creates a beautiful reflection of the while pillars. Between the pillars which are shaped like palm trees and decorated with gold (maybe even real gold? You never know in Abu Dhabi…) you can walk towards the entrance. In the middle of the complex there is a courtyard style opening which has a marble mosaique making up a flower pattern.
Before entering the actual mosque you should take off your shoes and make sure you are in fact dressed appropriately as a sign of respect for the UAE culture. The mosque itself is made up of several „rooms“ which look like oversized living rooms since they are equiped with carpets, chandeliers and just the furniture is missing. Especially the chandeliers are so colorful and beautiful and even though they are probably the size of my whole apartment I’m still dreaming of hanging them at my home…
Moreover, I was astonished by the walls which are covered with shiny pearl material and feature passages from the quran. Overall the building was completed with great love for the details. Only the carpet for example took around 1200 carpet knotters around 2 years to complete and is known to be the largest handknotted carpet worldwide. I also really like that the main concept behind the construction of the mosque was to unite and even in the construction you can see that people worldwide joint forces and came together to build this magnificent architectural structure. The marble was partially supplied from Italy, the chandeliers constructed in Germany and the carpet knitted in Iran. It very much reflects the international culture and openness of the United Arab Emirates, which I like so much, just as much as the fact that people of every origin are able to visit its grounds.
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