Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

Muslims must believe that all power, success and victory comes from God alone.
                                                                                                                           Abu Bakar Bashir 


To reflect the spirit of Islam, a religion of peace, education and tolerance, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque wanted a mosque for all visitors of all  nationalities to experience the culture and religion. 


Just a few rules:

- Modest, conservative, loose fitting clothing; long sleeves, long skirts and trousers

- No transparent (see-through) clothing

- No shorts for men

- No shorts and  skirts must be ankle length

- No tight clothing, no swimwear and no beachwear.

- Shoes will be removed before entering the mosque, so we recommend slip off shoes

- Headscarf for ladies is essential (these can be provided when you arrive)

- Intimate behaviour; i.e. holding hands or kissing is not acceptable in a Muslim place of worship.

We are almost there at the Shiekh Zayed Grand Mosque.

WE arrive at the mosque...Maggie, Me and Angela.

I brought my own Abaya and Sheyla  - if I need to enter the prayer room at school I will have to cover up.
Plus, guests could borrow it when they visit. 

All women must change. They can bring their own Abaya (gown) and Sheyla (head wrap) or it's provided.
Touring the mosque is free and an incredible experience.




I brought my own Abaya and Sheyla.  I can use it to enter school prayer rooms or for guests.

At this point the pictures are captioned, but when they uploaded they jumbled.  

Interior view of mosque on court yard - facing this view, it is toward Mecca!

In the main prayer room there is a wall, a frame of  99 names of gods.
This is the center one, Allah.
There is one outside the frame in the garden room empty, the 100th name to be known
later and only known by a few prophets right now. 

As we were leaving - construction continues on the mosque.
Currently it is the 7th largest in capacity of people that can
be in there at one time.  Seven Thousand in the main prayer
room, two thousand in the daily prayer room.  It is third largest in space.

In the main prayer room this moroccan rug was made by hand by 40
women.  There is no seam, it is one continuous piece.
If you look closely in the middle you can see a line, the carpet is
raised here to identify where prayers stand.
Men and women are called to prayer five times a day. Most women pray at home.
Men and women do not pray together and to my surprise it is not a hierarchy but as our
guide told us, a distraction. "If I'm praying and a beautiful woman is in front of me and bending
while praying, I'm not praying".  Our guide had a great sense of humor while sharing the culture.

Chandelier in the main prayer room. There are three of them.
It weighs over 10 tons!
Simply stunning.
There are seven chandeliers in the mosque,
this is the largest. 

Another view.

You can see the dome. The mosque has 82 domes. 

Chandelier in the garden room. In Muslim architecture
animals and humans are not used, only water and plants,
specifically flowers: tulip, lily and iris. 

This clock identifies prayer times in both english and arabic.
It is displaying arabic.
The flowers on the wall are on Italian marble and have raised colored flowers
made of marble. The detail in each is breath taking. 

There are over 1000 columns in the mosque. They are made of  marble and
inlays of marble and precious stones.  360* views - seen at all angles. Outside the
mosque the columns have color, inside they are inlayed with mother of pearl in muted tones of
white, gray and black as to not be a distraction to the prayer. 

A closer look at the detail of the flowers:
iris, tulip and lily. 

One walk way of the columns.

The columns with the reflection pool which is on each side of the mosque in some size. 

The tops of the columns are palm trees in gold leaf. 

The courtyard with columns and a key hole design all around. 

Another view of columns including towers and domes. 

Another view. 

My abaya has an embroidered design. An abaya is worn over
street clothes, where a burka is an outfit. 

Sign made of marble and gold inlay. 

Dome in the Garden Room. 

Another view of the courtyard. 

Gold doors leading into the garden room. 

Female Ablution is the bathroom.  

The designs on the floor are a mirror image on the ceiling - floors made of
tile and carpet. Most ceilings are made of ivory. 

The ceiling in the daily prayer room. 

Another close up of the tile flower design in the garden room. 

Foot washing room. 

Garden room

Garden Room wall....very impressive. 

Key hole column looking across courtyard at windows and domes. 

Maggie and me in the mosque. They encourage all to photograph,
but not people, especially women if permission is not asked. 

Maggie in her sheyla and abaya

Two more names of 99 on wall of god names. Allah again is the middle name. 

Inside the main mosque.  Very large, luxurious and so much to take in. 

Me at the mosque, standing at courtyard. 

Me inside the mosque. The abaya was hot outside, as we have clothes on underneath.
The sheyla was not a big deal, just hard to keep tight on the head. 

On the courtyard...ready to go in - barefoot.

Me again. 

Me again, barefoot. 

barefoot!!!

Our guide!

A different view. 

Now there are Panasonic TV's for prayer room to help out with students. 

Another view of another side of the columns outside the mosque and
the reflection pool. 

As we are walking out. 

Carpet in Daily Prayer room.
It mirrors the design on the ceiling. 

The main speaker prays from here. In the past they used
an audio tool of bouncing voice off the wall.
Now they use microphones. 

Closer look of speakers box

Cindy, Me, Maggie and Angela....

Incredible tile work throughout the mosque. 

Drinking fountain, but during Ramadan their is no public eating from
sunrise to sunset. It is against the law. Non Muslims are given a warning
and if they are caught again, they will be arrested. 

Any window with color is not facing north or
toward Mecca. 

This window has clear and white glass, identifying that the
window faces Mecca.

Three Words: Feel Very Blessed!