Grand Designs

This weekend's adventures included a trip to the Grand Mosque.

And despite my best efforts to follow the dress code that we'd made a point of looking up, by wearing long loose trousers, a long loose top, and a scarf to put over my head, I still had to wear an Abaya.  Apparently my dark blue linen top was too see-through, oh, and also didn't cover my wrists.  But you know, when in Rome an all that... Dishdashes or thawbs are actually also available for men who visit in shorts or tight t-shirts.

Anyway, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was initiated by the late president of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who wanted to establish a structure which united the cultural diversity of the Islamic world and the historical and modern values of architecture and art.  The mosque was constructed from 1996 to 2007 using more than 3,000 workers and 38 contracting companies, at a cost of more than 2 billion dirhams (US$545 million).  It is the largest mosque in the UAE, covering more than 12 hectares (30 acres), exclusive of exterior landscaping and parking.

As the country's grand mosque it is the key place to worship for Friday gathering and Eid prayers, and has a capacity of 40,000 worshippers.  It features 82 domes, over 1,000 columns, 24 carat gold gilded chandeliers and the world's largest hand knotted carpet.  The main prayer hall is dominated by one of the world's largest chandeliers - 10 meters in diameter, 15 meters high and weighing twelve tonnes.  Reflective pools surround the mosque, while the striking white and gold colours shining in the sun are transformed at night by a unique lightning system which reflects the phases of the moon.

The mosque is large enough to accommodate over 40,000 worshippers: the main prayer hall can hold 7,000 and the two smaller prayer halls (one for females) have a 1,500-capacity each. I'm guessing the rest pray in the courtyard?

The courtyard, with its floral design, measures about 17,000 square meters (180,000 sq ft) and is considered to be the largest example of marble mosaic in the world.

The design on the interior walls

The mosque has seven imported chandeliers from the company Faustig in Munich, Germany, that incorporate millions of Swarovski crystals.  The largest chandelier is the second largest known chandelier inside a mosque, and the third largest in the world and has a 33ft diameter and a 49ft height.

The 99 names (qualities or attributes) of God (Allah) are featured on the Qibla wall in traditional Kufic calligraphy.  The Quibla wall also features subtle fibre optic lighting, which is integrated as part of the organic design.

The carpet in the main prayer hall is considered to be the world's largest carpet made by Iran's Carpet Company.  This carpet measures 5,627 square meters (60,570 sq ft) and was made by around 1,200-1,300 carpet knotters.  The weight of this carpet is 35 tonnes and is predominantly made from wool originating from New Zealand and Iran.  There are 2,268,000,000 knots within the carpet and it took about two years to complete.

There are four minarets on the four corners of the courtyard which rise about 107m (351 ft) in height.

The pool along the arcades reflect the mosque's spectacular columns, which becomes even more glorious at night.  The unique lightning system was designed by lightning architects Speirs+Major to reflect the phases of the moon.  Beautiful bluish grey clouds are projected in lights onto the external walls and get brighter and darker according to the phase of the moon.

The mosque's first ceremony was the funeral of its namesake Sheikh Zayed, and his final resting place is located in the grounds.  Attendants recite the Quran 24/7 over the beloved rulers grave. 

There really were some beautiful, intricate and stunning parts to the mosque, but oh the brightness of the stone and marble and gold!  Well worth a visit, so long as you remember your sunglasses.