The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is often referred to as the Blue Mosque because of the gentle blue lighting at night. This Mosque is the best I've been in around the Middle East. The 3 I have been in, allow women to enter which in itself is a rarity. This one issues abyas and shaylas for the woman to wear and I got asked to cover my head as my shayla had slipped back. Showing bits of blonde hair is a bit of a give away.
The Grand Mosque is the resting place for Sheik Zayed our former sheik and founder of the UAE. The architecture is simple, on a grand scale but equally magnificent. Somehow its not flashy. The tiles alone are inlaid with mother of pearl.beautiful but not ostentatious. The central chandelier is so beautiful, with all its colours...... and the carpets well there must be kilometers. The main prayer room holds well over 20,000 people and the main court yard outside hold 100,000. Ian and I visited on Saturday afternoon close to sunset and admired the symmetry, the columns, the prayer room and the ambiance. Definitely a must see.
No I haven't turned Muslim just admiring and learning about a new culture
1 comment:
I'm so glad you managed to get to see this. We were very impressed by its architectural beauty when we saw it in March. Did you get to visit the toilets? Amazing decorative walls there as well.
Post a Comment