Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates © Onnik James Krikorian 2013
I don’t usually do the tourist thing when traveling for work, but there was no way I couldn’t on my first visit to the Arab world in February last year. I didn’t have much time to spare during my stay in Abu Dhabi to speak at an intergovernmental seminar on counterterrorism and combatting violent extremism online, but I did have a few hours after the conference ended and having to leave for the airport.
A visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque close by seemed the most obvious choice and I wasn’t disappointed. Quite magnificent.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque (Arabic: جامع الشيخ زايد الكبير) is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates and is considered to be the key for worship in the country. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque was initiated by the late President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who wanted to establish a structure which unites the cultural diversity of Islamic world, the historical and modern values of architecture and art. His final resting place is located on the grounds beside the same mosque. The mosque was constructed from 1996 to 2007. It is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and the eighth largest mosque in the world. The mosque site is equivalent to the size five football[clarification needed] fields approximately.
“As the country’s grand mosque, it is the key place of worship for Friday gathering and Eid prayers. During Eid it can be visited more than 40,000 people.
True, it would have been nice to have spent more time in Abu Dhabi, but I at least got to people watch during my unexpected and unplanned layover in Doha, Qatar, on the way back.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates © Onnik James Krikorian 2013
