Abu Dhabi Diary –

A Visit to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center

For any visitor to Abu Dhabi, a visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a must – it is a testament to faith and reverence for the Almighty, and tolerance for all humanity.  This majestic building set on Abu Dhabi Island has 82 domes of various sizes and the largest is located in the centre of the main prayer hall.

Along with thousands of people of every nationality and faith, I visited this beautiful monument to peace and tolerance. All of us covered our heads in reverence to being in a house of God.

I struggled to cover my head with my scarf without it slipping down. Two young women spontaneously helped me and my niece Premila with our scarves very professionally. They confided they were Hindu too but had gone to Dubai’s Meena Bazaar to buy their head scarves and asked the sales person to teach them how to tie them the correct way.

With my hard scarf tightly in place, I was able to visit the prayer rooms, the courtyards and see the many treasures of the mosque including the chandeliers embedded with 24 k gold and Swarovski crystals, and the world’s largest hand-knitted carpet .

Some interesting details and statistics from the Grand Mosque website

The Grand Mosque is stunning in its unmatched beauty and architecture, its minarets and reflecting pools.

“The design elements include pure white marble cladding; onion shaped ‘crowns’ and crescent shaped finials decorated with gold-glass mosaic.  The elongated windows allow the natural light to enter the prayer halls.

The inside of the domes feature traditional Moroccan artwork which has been made from reinforced plaster called (GRG).  Encircling the inside of the domes are verses from the Holy Quran which are also molded from GRG and painted in gold colour.”

The strategic geographical location of the Mosque is a symbolic expression of the emotional connection the Mosque has in the hearts of all UAE citizens particularly because the burial place of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, first President of the UAE, is located beside the mosque.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is well recognized by its pure color, as it is clad with SIVEC marble from Macedonia.  Every artistic design element was carefully considered and fits into the overall vision of the Mosque.

The unique lightning system was designed to reflect the phases of the moon. Soft undulating clouds of a bluish gray colour are projected onto the white marble external surfaces of the mosque including the façade and domes.  Each day appears a little different from the next as the lighting cycle commences with darker clouds when the month is in its early stages and the moon is a small crescent.  As the moon progresses through its cycle and becomes full, so does the lightning effect become more brilliant.  There are twenty-two light towers consisting of an efficient number of light projectors to achieve this creative effect.

The main prayer hall houses the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet. The intricate Islamic medallion design was made by third generation carpet maker and artist, Dr. Ali Khaliqi.  The predominantly wool carpet was hand-crafted by approximately 1,200 artisans.

Its creation was a two year project, the design took approximately 8 months, the knotting 12 months and the remaining time to transport, trim and weave the pieces together. The final single piece carpet is 5,700 square meters, about 70% being wool and the rest of 30% is cotton.

There are seven crystal chandeliers made by Faustig (Munich, Germany) situated inside the halls and foyers. The largest (located in the main prayer hall and considered one of the world’s largest in a mosque and is weighing approximately 12 tons.

Two smaller versions of the same design (located also in the main prayer hall) are weighing 8 tons each. Four blue coloured chandeliers of similar design and size are located in the foyer entrances surrounding the SZGM. The largest of them is weighing about 2 tons and located in the main foyer entrance.

All chandeliers are made from gilded stainless steel and gilded brass (approx. 40kg of 24 carat galvanized gold was used). Glass panels studded with Swarovski crystals were installed in all of them.

The mosque is surrounded by rectangular pools tiled in different shades of blue, which extend over 7874 m². They reflect the mosque’s magnificent arcades and columns and become even more spectacular by the lighting at night.

A Selfie with the Almighty

 I was most impressed with the worshippers and the visitors from all over the world – their heads respectfully covered, families, children and the elderly all out on a Sunday to pause and pray. The electronic moving pathways made it easy for old and young to move quickly and efficiently.

Thousands of people all moving from room to room – and of course phone cameras were everywhere as people clicked themselves with family to have a memory of the day. There were spontaneous friendships and civility too as people paused to take pictures of families when requested by strangers and then moved on with their lives.

The beauty of it all was the diversity and the respect for tolerance. You could not but be peaceful in such an awe-aspiring tribute to the Supreme Being.