Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is one of the great architectueral landmark in Abu Dhabi. Local resident called it Grand Mosque . The materials collected from Italy, Germany, Morocco, India, Turky, China , Iran, Greece and UAE . At the time of construction there were about 3,000 workers and 38 construction company worked together.
The Mosque’s initial architectural design was Moroccan, but it evolved to include many global features, including exterior walls that are of traditional Turkish design. Natural materials were chosen for its design and construction due to their long-lasting qualities, including marble, stone, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals and ceramics.
The 22,412 square meter Mosque site is equivalent to around the size of five football fields, and can accommodate 40,960 worshippers – 7,126 in the main prayer hall; 1,960 in the open prayer hall; 980 female worshippers in the open prayer hall female section; 22, 729 in the open courtyard; 682 in the main prayer hall entrance and 784 in the mosque’s main hall entrance.
The Grand Mosque features 82 domes of Moroccan design and all decorated with white marble. The main dome’s outer shell measures 32.8 meters in diameter and stands at a height of 70 meters from the inside and 85 meters from the outside - the largest of its kind, according to the Turkey Research Centre for Islamic History and Culture.
The Mosque has approximately 1,000 columns in its outer areas which are clad with more than 20,000 marble panels inlaid with semi-precious stones, including lapis lazuli, red agate, amethyst, abalone shell and mother of pearl. The 96 columns in the main prayer hall are round in shape and inlaid with mother of pearl. Additionally, the Mosque has four beautiful minarets standing at almost 107 meters each at the four corners of the mosque.
Reflective pools, totaling 7,874 square meters and laden with dark tiles, surround the Mosque, whilst coloured floral marble and mosaics pave the 17,000 square meter courtyard which is decorated with white marble from Greece. The pools reflect the Mosque’s spectacular image, which becomes even more resplendent at night.
An equally impressive interior design complements the Mosque’s awesome exterior. Italian white marble and inlaid floral designs adorn the prayer halls and the Mosque’s interior walls have decorative gold-glass mosaic features, particularly delicate on the western wall. The main glass door of the Mosque is 12.2 meters high, 7 meters wide and weighs approximately 2.2 tons.
The main prayer hall features the world’s largest chandelier under the main dome – being 10 meters in diameter, 15 meters in height and weighing over nine tons. The Mosque’s seven gold-coloured chandeliers, from Germany, feature thousands of Swarovski crystals from Austria and some glasswork from Italy, and cost about US$8.2 million (AED 30 million).
The main prayer hall can fit in around 7,126 worshippers and also features the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet. Designed by Iranian artist, Ali Khaliqi, the carpet was hand-crafted by 1,200 artisans in small villages near Mashhadin in Iran, a region renowned for its carpet making expertise. The artisans were flown to Abu Dhabi to stitch the carpet pieces together for the final fitting. Consisting of 2,268,000 knots, the Mosque’s carpet is estimated to be valued at US$8.2 million (AED 30 million).
The Qibla wall is 23 metres high and 50 metres wide, and is subtly decorated so as not to distract worshippers from prayer. Gold-glass mosaic has been used in the Mehrab. The 99 names of Allah featured on the Qibla wall .
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