This monumental structure made of snow-white marble looks like something from the tales of the Thousand and One Nights! I've seen photos of it before and to be honest I thought they exaggerated the beauty of the mosque a bit. Imagine my surprise when I realized that the photographs did not convey all the sophistication and grace of this magnificent building.

I will say right away that my photographs will not fully convey it either; you need to see this mosque with your own eyes in order to fully appreciate its elegance and the skill of its builders. But I’ll still tell you a little about her.

The first thing that caught my eye was how much this mosque resembles the palace of the Sultan from Disney's Aladdin. That is, the comparison with One Thousand and One Nights is completely justified.

I admit that I have a far from ambiguous attitude towards huge religious buildings. , and on the one hand I feel a little sorry to see how humanity spends a huge amount of time and resources on building great temples to worship a higher power that, as it seems to me, does not exist. On the other hand, it is difficult to argue with the fact that many of the most beautiful and interesting buildings created by humanity in its history are religious buildings. The Cathedrals of Notre Dame and St. Peter in the Vatican - all these great monuments of humanity were built precisely for religious purposes.

And what monumental buildings did secular society build? No, of course they exist, but they are usually less impressive than religious buildings.

Christians in past centuries built magnificent cathedrals, but today they have to save money. Even the century-long construction of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is evidence of this. The new parts of the cathedral are much simpler and more utilitarian than the old ones. What would these great monuments of Christian architecture look like if they were built today, using the latest technology, but with the same astronomical budgets? Who knows. Today only Muslims are capable of such amazing extravagance.

I’m not a big expert on mosques; of the big famous mosques in the world, I’ve only been to the Blue Mosque of Istanbul before. I remember she impressed me, but what I saw here in Abu Dhabi is much cooler!

The Sheikh Zayed Mosque, popularly called the White Mosque, was built relatively recently. Construction took more than ten years and required half a billion dollars. Over 3,000 craftsmen from all over the world took part in it! As a result, the mosque was opened in 2007. This is a huge complex of white marble. The mosque has four hundred-meter minarets, a huge courtyard and 82 domes! From above it looks like this:

Sorry, I don't have a helicopter, so the photo is satellite

The territory of the mosque is also impressive, both in its size and the degree of grooming.

The Sheikh Zayed Mosque is named after the country's first president (). It is one of the few in the Emirates where non-Muslims are allowed entry. Anyone can get here, and it's free. The authorities wisely decided that such a treasure should not be hidden from representatives of other religions. Predictably, visitors are asked to dress conservatively. Anyone who has more than their fair share of visibility will be given special clothing to cover their shame.

Already at the entrance you can see beautiful domes and minarets.

The mosque building is surrounded by shallow pools of clean water. Notice the wall cladding - it is made of marble slabs of different sizes.

The shady galleries look as if they extend into infinity. The columns here are decorated with patterns of climbing plants.

Through the arches of the gallery you can see the courtyard and the main building of the mosque.

Minarets mark the corners of this courtyard, which is also entirely covered in marble.

Agree, this is the spitting image of the Sultan’s palace!

By the way, the floor of the courtyard is not only marble, but also lined with multi-colored flowers - this pattern is considered the largest marble mosaic in the world.

Look at the quality of work! The pieces of colored stone are so precisely set into the surrounding white marble that not the slightest crack is visible. There is no cement here either. Such high quality work can be seen wherever you look in the mosque. This is precisely why it stands out from the crowd, in which, if you look closely, you can see many flaws.

Let's go inside. As you know, you cannot enter a mosque wearing shoes. There are shelves in front of the entrance where you can take off your shoes and leave your shoes.

Look at this huge gate. They are two and a half human heights high, and lead to the “anteroom” of the mosque. The interiors of the premises are air-conditioned, since in Abu Dhabi, like in Dubai, there is intense heat. Therefore, these gates are constantly closed. They work on a photocell. There is something almost magical about how quietly and smoothly this door opens automatically when a person is about to pass through.

In the dressing room, the walls are also covered with mosaic vegetation.

There is a chandelier hanging here. All chandeliers in the mosque were made in Germany, using Austrian crystal from Swarovski. Pay attention to the ceiling. Incredibly complex patterns in the mosque are found on almost all surfaces, you just have to look closely. The only place where I have ever seen anything even resembling such complexity of ligature is the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

Another giant gate on a photocell leads from the vestibule into the mosque.

This is what the room looks like inside. More columns, another German chandelier. It's all obviously very rich, but it's also obviously tasteful.

Again, the level of detail is amazing!

There is a huge Persian carpet on the floor. It was specially woven for this mosque in Iran. It was delivered in nine separate sections, which were connected here, on site. Visitors to the mosque walk on it barefoot - it is fabulously soft, it is a very pleasant feeling for the feet.

The walls of the main hall are decorated with patterns of semi-precious stones. Notice that some of them glow!

These are translucent stones with lamps installed behind them. The effect is as if the stones emit an inner glow.

On the main wall, among the luminous curlicues, 99 titles of Allah are written. These inscriptions were made by one of the most famous masters of Arabic calligraphy. There is also a recess in this wall for the preacher. Every Friday the main sermon of the country is heard here.

By the way, in the United Arab Emirates the state controls all imams through the department of religion. Every week the department announces the topic for the Friday sermon, and each imam must come up with a speech on this topic and deliver it during Friday prayers. Imams are monitored so that none of them tries to radicalize their flock. For calls to violence and other fundamentalism they face prison or deportation.

Here even the shelf for Korans is decorated with mother-of-pearl!

Free tours of the mosque are available for tourists in different languages. To avoid shouting, the presenter has a microphone, and visitors are given receivers.

Let's go take a walk outside...

Large domes of the main room. The middle hall accommodates up to seven thousand worshipers, and the side halls accommodate another three thousand. If a lot of people come, then people pray in the courtyard. In this case, the mosque can accommodate forty thousand people!

Drinking fountains hang on the walls in the galleries. These are probably the richest fountains I have ever drunk from!

This is what the white marble from which the mosque is built looks like. Marble from different parts of the planet is used here. Special breeds were brought from China, India, Macedonia and Italy!

The architectural style of the mosque is also a mixture of different Muslim traditions. Persian, Moorish and Arabic styles are mixed here into one beautiful whole.

This is what the small domes in the gallery ceilings look like from the inside. Everything is covered with the most complex Arabic script.

Such a large-scale complex requires a large team of janitors to keep everything clean and in order. These migrant workers wash floors, clean walls and sweep up trash.

The area around the mosque is quite green - especially for Abu Dhabi. Under each tree and bush there is a hose from which irrigation water flows. Otherwise, everything here will quickly die from the heat and drought.

I’ll turn around one last time to take another look at the mosque.

Undoubtedly, it deserves a place on the list of modern Wonders of the World.

Well, it's time for me to go

This work of art, created in the 20th century, can only be compared with a beautiful white pearl. It shimmers in the sun, is beautiful at night, beautiful at sunset. A miracle of the world, and nothing more!

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After the first impressions left from the grandiose outer shell, there seems to be nothing left to be surprised about. You are wrong. The inside is even more luxurious than the outside. The chandelier, listed in the Guinness Book of Records for its size, hangs under the central dome and illuminates the main prayer hall. There are other “simpler” chandeliers:

• German made of gold
• crystal chandeliers made in Austria by Swarovski
• Italian glass chandeliers

On the floor of this room lies a carpet, also included in the book of records due to its size. The carpet was woven according to the sketch of the Iranian artist Ali Khagili from 35 tons of wool, 12 tons of cotton over 2 years by 1200 artisans.

On the famous qibla wall, the lighting subtly enhances the beauty of the gold and glass mosaics. The 99 qualities of Allah are written there in traditional Kufi calligraphy.

How to behave

Respect the traditions of this people. In order not to desecrate sacred feelings, it is necessary to know the rules of behavior on the territory. You can find out about this before visiting the temple. Clothes should be modest accordingly. Men's arms and legs must be covered. At the entrance, women are required to be given a sheila (black headscarf) and an abaya (floor-length black robe). After each woman, all this is washed, ironed and hung on hangers. At the entrance to the mosque there are shelves for shoes. There you take off your shoes, leave your shoes, and on the way back you go out right there and pick them up. Excursions here are completely free.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque or White Mosque, is one of the largest in the Emirates and throughout the world. It is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, and is named after the creator and first leader of this state, buried on its territory.

This is a very young Muslim temple, which was opened in 2007, i.e. he is only ten years old. This mosque is one of the few places of worship where non-Islamic tourists can visit to experience this world religion.

Previously, such “democracy” was not welcomed and even condemned by local spiritual leaders. But time moves forward, and today mosques open their doors to people of all religions and even atheists.

Islam in the past was a rather closed religion, but today it is becoming closer to people, explaining its principles and foundations. That is why in 2008, the Emirates Ministry of Culture allowed tours of three local Muslim temples.

There are several things in the Zayed Mosque that can be safely entered into the Guinness Book of Records. After all, it was originally built with the intention of making it the largest temple for the largest number of believers who come to communicate with Allah.

Thus, the carpet distributed in the mosque today is the largest in the world, it has an area of ​​more than 5.6 thousand square meters. meters. More than a thousand skilled weavers worked on its production, and its total weight is almost 50 tons.

The main prayer hall of the mosque has seven huge chandeliers made in Germany. They are decorated with gold and Swarovski crystals produced by a famous company from Austria. For a long time, the main chandelier was the largest in the world, until an even larger one was installed in nearby Qatar.

Mosque architecture

This is a very voluminous complex. The mosque can accommodate more than 40,000 believers. Four minarets more than 100 meters high were erected at each corner of the main building, and more than 80 domes were installed on top of it.

The domes are the purest white, because... they are covered with marble slabs. The walls and interiors are decorated with the same stone. And the courtyard near the mosque is paved with beautiful multi-colored marble tiles. The temple evokes a feeling of unearthly splendor.

Its middle name is the White Mosque, because it is all decorated with marble, all luxury and grandeur under the blue skies of Abu Dhabi. It’s worth coming to the Emirates just for this state, cultural and religious symbol and monument.

Overall, the temple is a beautiful piece of architecture that you simply can’t take your eyes off. Muslims come here to pray or admire millions of tourists from all over the world. This is one of the best attractions in the UAE, as if it came out of the Tale of a Thousand and One Nights.

When visiting the White Mosque on your own or with a tour, you must follow the rules established here. This is important because otherwise you risk offending religious and national feelings. And the people there are very temperamental.

The dress code here is quite strict, otherwise you may simply not be allowed into the mosque. Men must wear clothing that covers not only the body, but also the arms and legs. T-shirts and shorts are completely excluded; they are only decent on the beaches.

Women must cover their heads with a scarf. Hair should not be visible during the entire time spent in this temple. Muslims are convinced that the dark forces of our world lurk in a woman’s essence and in her hair in particular.

For women's clothing, a long skirt or dress is possible. It should not be tight or provocative. There is absolutely no one to seduce in the mosque. In addition, you must take off your shoes upon entry.

Under no circumstances should you eat, drink alcoholic beverages or smoke in the temple or near it. Here people turn to Allah, and do not indulge in earthly pleasures. Actually, everything is exactly the same as in the Christian church.

How much does it cost to visit the White Mosque?

Visiting the temple is completely free. But you can take a guide with you for a fee, incl. speaking Russian. He will tell you everything about the architecture and history of this temple, take you around the halls, share Muslim traditions, etc.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and one of the 6 largest and most beautiful mosques in the world. The mosque in Abu Dhabi bears the name of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder and first president of the UAE, who is next to it. Among guests and residents of the capital of the Emirates, this is one of the most visited places.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, opened in 2007, covers an area of ​​12 hectares. Its dimensions can accommodate about 41,000 believers. The main prayer hall can accommodate up to 7,000 people. 2 additional prayer halls, one of which is open only to women, can accommodate a further 1,500 people.

Visiting the mosque is available to everyone, regardless of faith. Tourists began to be allowed into the territory of the Muslim shrine in March 2008. When visiting, please note that a certain dress code is observed on the territory, according to which entry is not possible in clothes with bare shoulders, knees, bare heads (for women) and tight-fitting clothes.

Opening hours of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

The mosque is open to believers and tourists every day and seven days a week:

• Sat-Thu - from 9:00 to 22:00,
• Fri - from 16:30 to 22:00 (in the morning - only for believers).

Excursions are also offered daily:

• Sun-Thu - at 10:00, 11:00, 17:00,
• Fri - at 17:00, 19:00,
• Sat - at 10:00, 11:00, 14:00, 17:00, 19:00.

Opening hours of the mosque during the holy month of Ramadan:

• Sat-Thu - from 9:00 to 13:00,
• excursions - at 10:00, 11:00,
• Fri - the mosque is closed to the public.

Library operating hours:

• Sun-Thu - from 9:00 to 18:00,
• Sun-Thu (Ramadan) - from 9:00 to 14:00,
• Fri-Sat – closed to the public.

Architecture

Construction of the mosque lasted from 1996 to 2007 by 3,000 workers and was designed by Syrian architect Youssef Abdelki. The natural materials that were used to build and decorate the mosque have natural beauty and durability - marble stone, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals and ceramics. They were brought from many countries, including India, Italy, Germany, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, China, Great Britain, New Zealand, Macedonia and the United Arab Emirates.

It is impossible not to see the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque when entering Abu Dhabi. It is visible from all 3 road bridges connecting the island on which the capital of the United Arab Emirates stands with the mainland. The beautiful mosque shines with white Macedonian marble from afar. It is crowned with 82 domes, the largest of which is located above the main prayer hall. The mosque building has as many as 4 minarets (towers from which believers are called to prayer) each 106 meters high. They combine several different shapes and styles - a Moroccan-style square base, an octagonal shape from the Mameluke era, and a cylindrical shape from the Ottoman Empire. It is in one of the minarets that the library is located - the only one in the world located in such a place.

The galleries of the mosque are decorated with 1096 columns, which are decorated using a special Italian technique of the 16th century with precious and semi-precious stones - lapis lazuli, red agate, amethyst and mother-of-pearl. Swimming pools with a total area of ​​7874 square meters sparkle around. Their bottom is lined with all shades of blue, and the white walls and columns of the mosque are reflected in the mirror water.

The 17,400 square meter courtyard is lined with marble mosaics and can accommodate up to 31,000 worshipers. The marble mosaic is believed to be one of the largest in the world. The evening illumination of the mosque is amazing in its uniqueness - it changes every day, corresponding to the lunar cycle, from simulating dark gray-blue clouds to bright moonlight.

Prayer hall

The main prayer hall houses an amazing carpet measuring 5,700 square meters and weighing 35 tons, which is considered the largest hand-woven carpet in the world. For about 2 years, 1,200 craftsmen worked on its creation - the project and design were developed for about 8 months, work on the creation of individual canvases took about 12 months, after which the individual fragments were delivered to the mosque for several months and woven together. The unique carpet contains 70% wool and 30% cotton.

Hanging nearby are 2 smaller copies weighing 8 tons each. A 2-ton replica hangs in the hall. There are 7 pieces of crystal chandeliers by the German master in total. All of them are made of steel and pewter, plated with 40 kilograms of 24-karat gold. The design also featured glass panels with Swarovski crystals.

1 of 4

The minbar for reading the Friday sermon by the imam is made of cedar wood and decorated with mother-of-pearl, glass mosaic and white gold. The Mihrab is reminiscent of “Paradise” from the Holy Quran, according to which rivers of honey and milk flow in the heavens. After all, the golden glass mosaic in the mihrab of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque is very reminiscent of rivers of golden honey.

The North Minaret houses a one-of-a-kind library with a collection of about 7,000 books related to Islamic art and architecture. Among them, in a special safe zone, more than 100 rare specimens of historical value are stored.

Additional services

The following additional services are available to mosque visitors:

• free parking,
• free tours in Arabic and English (45-60 minutes),
• abaya (Muslim dress) for the duration of the visit,
• audio guide in Arabic, English, Chinese, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Urdu, French, Japanese and Russian (deposit required),
• medical clinic (from 8:30 to 22:30),
• cafe,
• gift shop,
• wheelchair rental,
• toilet rooms,
• transfer to Wahat al-Karama.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque has 82 domes in seven different sizes. The largest is 85 meters high (height from the inside is 70 meters), 32.2 meters in diameter.

Columns

The courtyard is surrounded by 1,048 columns, lined with more than 20,000 marble slabs interspersed with semi-precious shells, amethysts, lapis lazuli, red agates and mother-of-pearl. The long colonnades look amazing, see the photo below, click on the photo to enlarge.

Ponds

From the north, south and east, the mosque building is surrounded by ponds (there are 10 of them in total). A special lighting system has been created for these ponds. The illuminated walls, columns and domes of the mosque are reflected in the waters of the ponds, reminiscent of the night sky with clouds and moonlight.

The brightness of the lighting changes depending on the current phase of the moon. The illumination is created by 22 special towers, they are impossible not to notice. If you want to see this, come here after sunset.

Prayer hall

The prayer hall is open to non-Muslims only during non-prayer times. That is, between the morning (Fajr) and midday (Zuhr) prayers.

The main prayer hall can accommodate up to 7,000 believers, two secondary ones - up to 1,500 believers. One of these secondary rooms is for women. It is in the main hall that the main miracles of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque are hidden.

The prayer hall has 96 columns covered with mother-of-pearl. On the walls you can see 80 mosaics made from Iznik ceramics from Turkey. The Thuluth style inscriptions on these mosaics were created by the Turkish calligrapher Sheikh Hassan Tselbi. Note the large glass gate, it is 7 meters wide, 12.2 meters long and weighs 2.2 tons.

In the main prayer hall, look up and you will see the large dome of the mosque from the inside. Please note that the hall is shaped like an octagonal star.

Carpet

In the prayer hall you need to watch your step. The carpet covering the floor is the largest in the world (pictured above, click to enlarge). Its area is 5627 sq.m., it consists of 2,268,000,000 knots, and its weight exceeds 35 tons. It was woven in Iran for two years by 1,200 craftsmen.

The design of the carpet was developed by the Iranian Ali Kaliki, and production was supervised by the Iranian state company Iran Carpet Co. This carpet cost 30 million AED.

A masterpiece of modern technology (pictured on the left, click to enlarge). The light on the Qibla wall is supplied by the EFO system, that is, it is transmitted from remote sources using optical fiber. The EFO system is powered by 250 remote lamps. The developer of the optical system is Fiberstars EFO.

There are 99 names (attributes) of Allah written on the wall in Kufic script. These inscriptions were made by the famous calligrapher of the UAE - Mohammed Mandi Al-Tamimi.

The width of the Qibla wall is 50 meters, the height is 23 meters.

The prayer halls are illuminated by seven chandeliers produced by the German company Faustig. To understand how expensive it is, you can look on the Internet for prices for ordinary Faustig home chandeliers. And the chandeliers for the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque are made of millions of Swarovski crystals.

The largest chandelier is in the center of the main hall (pictured on the right, click to enlarge), diameter - 10 meters, height - 15 meters, weight - 12 tons. At the time the mosque was built, this chandelier was the largest in the world. Now the record has been broken; in 2010, an LED chandelier weighing 18 tons was installed in the Ali Bin Khalifa Al Hitmi & Co building in Qatar.

These seven chandeliers cost AED 30 million. The total weight of gilding on them is 40 kilograms of 999 gold!

Have a good visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, and read our useful and interesting articles about the United Arab Emirates for tourists ( links below).