A masterpiece of Islamic architecture made of gold and marble
We tell you about the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Emirates.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (White Mosque) is the most popular landmark of the United Arab Emirates.
The graceful forms, grandiose dimensions and luxurious interior of the mosque make this Muslim shrine a truly unique structure. Millions of tourists flock to the UAE to see the symbol of Arab culture — a real-life illustration of the “One Thousand and One Nights” fairy tale.
In the photo: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (Abu Dhabi) is among the top ten largest mosques in the world.
History of construction
The majestic mosque has been named after the founder of the UAE, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The ruler united disparate Bedouin Principalities and turned the country into one of the richest leading powers of the world.
It took 10 years to design the religious complex. 3000 specialists from 40 companies all over the world participated in the construction of the mosque. Marble was brought from Italy, Macedonia and China, luxurious chandeliers — from Germany, Swarovski crystals — from Austria. Engineering service lines were delivered from the UK and the USA.
The grand opening of the White Mosque was in 2007.
Interesting facts:
● The area of the complex is 22,412 square meters.
● The cost of construction was $545 million.
● There is a luxurious floor carpet (a work of weaving art) in the main hall of the mosque. It is the largest carpet in the world. The carpet was made by 1,200 weavers and craftsmen within two years.
● The grand hall of the mosque is decorated with seven magnificent chandeliers, each weighing 9 tons. The total cost of chandeliers was $8,2 million.
In the photo: the floor carpet and the central chandelier from the main prayer hall of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque are listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The area of the carpet is 5,627 square meters, its weight — 47 tons. The diameter of the central chandelier of the mosque is 10 meters, the height is 15 meters.
Architectural features
The grand religious complex, built of snow-white marble, is characterized by its unthinkable scale and a special oriental luxury of decorations. The premises of the mosque, as well as the courtyard, are lavishly decorated with 24K gold.
82 large domes with golden spires dominate the monumental structure.
The marble walls of the prayer halls are decorated with gold floral patterns and multicolored mosaic. The ornament is encrusted with Swarovski crystals and semiprecious stones: amethysts, lazurites and red agates.
In the photo: columns of the mosque are decorated with massive golden elements, colored mosaic and nacre.
The main prayer hall of the mosque can accommodate 9,000 believers. At the same time, the capacity allows 40,000 people to be present on the territory of the religious complex.
The entrance of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is open to both Muslims and other religious denominations.
If you were inspired by Abu Dhabi’s landmark, don’t stop there! Discover the sights of Dubai — a city where every street sparks the imagination. We’ve covered it in our article “Dubai: gold in the City of the Future”.
