Our time in Abu Dhabi was very short but very memorable! If you have time to explore Abu Dhabi, even if only during a layover, like we did, we highly recommend it. I was very unfamiliar with this part of the world so was grateful to learn a little bit about it.
We learned that Abu Dhabi is one of the 7 emirates (similar to a state) that comprise the federation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an elective monarchy established in 1971. The other 6 emirates are Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain and each is governed by its own emir. Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the UAE and is by far the largest emirate and has the 2nd highest population.
The first thing I noticed as we entered the Abu Dhabi airport was a picture of a very familiar face – the late Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, former ruler of Abu Dhabi and considered to be the founding father of the UAE nation. His son Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and current president of the UAE, gave a significant gift to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD to build the Zayed critical care tower and the Adult Emergency Department where I worked for 6 years! I passed by the portrait of Sheik Zayed multiple times during my shifts in the ED so seeing this portrait in the airport felt like a very full circle moment!
We are grateful that we had time in the morning to visit the Grand Mosque that was constructed from 1994-2007 and started by the late Sheik Zayed to be a home of worship and a place of unity for the Muslim community and cultural exchange. The Sheik passed on in 2004 and is has his burial site in the courtyard of the mosque. The construction was completed by his son in his father’s memory.
There are no words to describe the grandeur and brilliance of this architectural wonder. The mosque can accommodate over 40,000 worshipers at once! The carpet is considered to the be largest single carpet in the world was made by over 1300 carpet knotters. Made principally of marble, the structure is a stunning shade of pure white with inlaid semi-precious jewels forming mosaics on the walls and floors. Different forms of Arabic calligraphy line the different domes throughout the mosque. Seven chandeliers were imported from Munich Germany are incorporate millions of Swarovski crystals – the largest of them is considered to be the 3rd largest chandelier in the world!
We were simply blown away by the architecture design and pure beauty of this structure. Our time at the Grand Mosque was unforgettable and time well spent en route to Ahmedebad India where we’ll spend the next 5 weeks.
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