Friday 23 December 2011

The world wonder of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

The Sheikh Zayed Grand mosque in Abu Dhabi is one of the most beautiful buildings we have ever seen. The whole building, the centre court, the columns, everything is in the finest marble. This mosque is enormous and offers place for 40.000 worshippers. The mosque itself has a roof with 80 domes, it has the largest carpet in the world, and there are three chandeliers that weigh 10 ton a piece. There are two mosques in the world that are bigger, one in Mecca and the other one in Medina. Both mosques are not accessible for non Muslims. This is the largest mosque where non Muslims are allowed in. It shows that Abu Dhabi who tries to hold on to its own culture, also opens the doors for the western society. This deserves a lot of our respect. The galleries around the inner square are supported by hundreds of columns which are decorated with flower paintings. Also the marble floor of the inner court is decorated with flowers. Western visitors have to adjust a bit to enter the mosque, everyone needs to take off their shoes, men have to where long pants and sleeves, women are provided an abaya for the visit. All husbands were very curious to see their wife coming out of the dressing room in the abaya. It resulted in some very nice pictures, a lot of fun, but also respect for the Arabic culture. The abaya is an Arabic piece of clothing, a tradition; it is not a religious sign as many people in Europe think. I had to limit my pictures for this article because I took more than 40 photos on this site. Dubai is known for its openeness for tourism but their mosques are more restricted than here in more conservative Abu Dhabi.

De Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is één van de meest mooie gebouwen dat we ooit gezien hebben. Het volledige gebouw, het binnenplein, de zuilen, alles is gemaakt in het fijnste marmer. De moskee is enorm groot en biedt plaats aan 40.000 gelovigen. Het hoofdgebouw zelf heeft een dak met 80 koepels, het grootste tapijt ter wereld, en drie lusters die elk 10 ton wegen. Er zijn twee moskeeën in de wereld die nog groter zijn, 1 in Mekka en 1 in Medina. Beide moskeeën zijn niet toegankelijk voor niet Moslims. Dit is de grootste moskee ter wereld waar Westerlingen toegelaten worden. Het toont aan dat Abu Dhabi, dat zo tracht vast te houden aan zijn eigen cultuur, toch zijn deuren opent voor de Westerse wereld, wij hebben hier veel respect voor. De galerijen rond het binnenplein worden ondersteunt door honderden marmeren zuilen die beschilderd zijn met bloemen. Ook de vloer van het binnenplein is mooi versiert met bloemen. Westerse bezoekers dienen zich aan te passen aan de lokale gebruiken vooraleer de moskee binnen te gaan, iedereen moet zijn schoenen uit doen, mannen wordt gevraagd een lange broek en lange mouwen te dragen, de vrouwen een abaya. Alle mannen keken vol ongeduld uit naar de komst van de vrouwen uit de kleedkamer in hun abaya. Dit leidde tot mooie foto’s, leuke gebeurtenissen en ook respect voor de Arabische cultuur. De abaya is een kledingstuk van de Arabische wereld, een traditie, het geeft geen religieuze betekenis zoals velen in Europa denken. Ik heb mijn aantal foto’s voor dit artikel beperkt daar wij er meer als 40 hebben genomen. Dubai staat bekend voor zijn openheid en toerisme maar hun moskeeën zijn minder toegankelijk als hier in het meer gesloten Abu Dhabi..

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Previous Abu Dhabi article: The green oasis of Markaziyah Garden in the centre of Abu Dhabi

Return to main page

11 comments:

  1. Fantastisch zoals jullie dit hebben weten vast te leggen....wit is zo'n moeilijke kleur in de fotografie....complimenten voor al deze mooie opnames.

    Groetjes en fijne dagen toegewenst.

    Joop

    ReplyDelete
  2. WOW! What a fabulous place! Oil will do good after all!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your pictures are just stunning! I understand, I would have taken hundreds of pictures!! You got some amazing views, as you are a very good photographer!!! Each picture is stunning and interesting!!! The blue flower on the window, the amazing chandelier and rug, the bright white mosque with all the gold work on it! Wishing you a wonderful and merry Christmas!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love mosque, really beautiful ! I wish I could someday visit these types of mosque !
    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ... to you !

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amazing. The beauty and size of the mosque is stunning. Everything so ornate in a pleasant way. Reminds me a little of the Taj Mahal, although the flowers on the Taj are all inlaid precious stones.

    I have been enjoying looking through your wonderful recent posts of Dubai, it is quite a different world altogether.

    ReplyDelete
  6. WOW wat is dit genieten, fraaie heldere kleuren!
    Hele fijne dagen, groetjes Cristien.

    ReplyDelete
  7. breathtaking colours and simply fantastic pictures!!! thanks for this beautiful tour...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very nice blogging, and you have shared here nice pictures..

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for sharing the wonderful blog. The blog is also written well.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Amazing Pictures I loved them and all the frames are so perfect. As it comes to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque well, its architecture and its beauty don't need any word to describe them because there is no perfect word for such an amazing creation of men. For the Travel Lovers, The planet earth holds a lot of secrets awaits to be discovered like an Arabian desert. It's an amazing place, It has a lot of beautiful views like the sunset and the sunrise, The amazing Desert Safari with Dune bashing and the Quad Bike in Dubai and not to forget the night in which the sky is full of glittering stars. It sure is a place to make amazing memories

    ReplyDelete
  11. All the pictures that you have posted are very nice and innovative once I went Dubai in 2017 I went for Abu Dhabi and Dubai city tour all the things are very awesome.In both Tours really enjoy with my whole family thanks for sharing this wonderful blog and remind my best vacation

    ReplyDelete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.