A dear friend was visiting UAE for the weekend and his only request was to see the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. We finally got to visit the grand mosque up close after 6 years here in UAE, our first time.
We left Al Qusais around 9 am and arrived at the capital by 10:30 am, we missed a few turns going to the mosque. Sadly, we did not make it in time for the 11 am guided tour.
The area is so clean. Building so white. We kept wondering how they clean the whole mosque, intricate wall design seem clear of dust.
Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is widely recognized by it’s pure white color, the SIVEC marbles are from Macedonia.
The mosque has 82 domes made of pure white marble in various sizes. White was the chosen color as it symbolizes purity and piety.
It is open to the public, even for non Muslim’s like us.
Let’s begin our virtual tour…
If you think the grand mosque is majestic outside, it is a different story once you enter the main hall. Beyond this point, ladies are required to wear abaya and men wearing short pants are required to wear kondura.
Guest’s are also required to remove shoes before entering the prayer area.
Are you ready to get inside?
The main area is covered with the world’s largest hand knotted carpet. It took a team of 1200 artisan’s to complete the carpet in the span of 2 years. In case you’re wondering our feet remained in the same state if not cleaner after entering the carpeted area.
LittleMiss fell in love with the grand mosque, she declared it her princess castle.
A grand chandelier welcomes you in the hall, it is considered one of the biggest installed inside the mosque and weighs 12 tons. Made of stainless steel, glided brass, glass and swarovski crystals.
Intricate beautiful designs can also be found on the wall, floor, doors and ceiling.
I hope you enjoyed the Sheikh Zayed grand mosque tour with us.
Cuddles and Crumbs 
Lovely pictures..wecan’t wait to visit this beautiful mosque soon 🙂
Thank you! It is beyond beautiful. Try to catch the guided tour when you visit.
Thank you for the photos and story–a great place for families to visit!
Wow, what a beautiful place. It must be very interesting for the children to see and experience this.
Thanks for linking #LetKidsBeKids
It was nice to see it up close and not just read about the mosque
Wow, so beautiful. Sometimes you wonder about the ornateness and richness of the churches in the UK, but this is something else. It’s more like a palace than a religious building. A bit incongruous.
Yes, a palace! My kids, specially LittleMiss thinks princesses live in the mosque.
I can’t believe I haven’t visited yet! It’s so much more beautiful that I imagined.
I still can’t get over how beautiful it is. Schedule a visit after summer.