The Sheikh Zayed Mosque, was built not only to exhibit Islamic culture but also to promote interaction with other religions and to incorporate architectural styles from different Muslim civilizations.
The construction of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, initiated by Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan in 1996, and was completed in 2007 after his death (2004)
It is one of the most rare and wonderful buildings in the world.
It is situated on an area of 22,412 square meters, almost four football fields.
Totally 40960 people can worship indoors and outdoors.
The mosque was completed by spending 545 million dollars. This cost is candidate to enter Guinees records.
The mosque is considered as one of the most important structures of the United Arab Emirates.
The Sheikh Zayed Mosque, was built not only to exhibit Islamic culture but also to promote interaction with other religions and to incorporate architectural styles from different Muslim civilizations.
It is the only mosque that captures unique interactions between Islam and world cultures.
Mosque design has been emerged with the blending of many historical architectural currents. It’s clear that architect Yousef Abdelky has inspired by the architecture of Badshahi Mosque in Pakistan and Hassan II Mosque in Morocco. Especially traces from the Persian architecture may be observable.
Sheikh Zayed Mosque has 82 domes of different sizes. These domes are inspired by the Badshahi Mosque in Pakistan.
Three large main domes cover the interior. The diameter of the one in the center is 32.80 m. With the height70.0 m internally, 87.0 m externally. So it is called the largest in the world.
The building is supported by 96 columns internally and 1048 in the externally. Each of the columns is covered with Macedonia marble and precious stones.
The main prayer hall is divided into 2 separate areas for women and men. It can accommodate totally 10,000 people.
The interior architecture of the building is quite impressive. The interior decoration of the mosque is dominated by floral motifs. The carpet covering the main hall is considered to be the largest carpet in the world
7119 square meters. weighing 45 tons . The carpet is been weaved in Iran by 1300 people working for 2 years.Then was divided into 9 parts and transported by two private planes.
There are totally seven chandeliers in the mosque, consisting of 24 carat pure gold and thousands of Swarowski crystals. Under the main dome, the world's largest chandelier is hunged with a diameter of 10m, a height of 15m and a weight of 9 tons.
Lighting was performed indoors and outdoors with around 3500 units. The lighting system in the building is cleverly concealed and fully functional
Especially the lighting towers around the mosque are quite interesting..
Illumination of this magnificent mosque is controlled by a complex electrical system.
The interior floor of the mosque is handcrafted as mosaic on marble and is decorated with flowers such as irises, tulips, lilies and roses that are widely used in the Arabic ornament art.
On the Quibla wall, behind the mihrab there are the 99 names of Allah written in 24-carat golden Arabic cufic letters.
Mihrap, decorated with 24 carat gold inlay grooves on marble.
Sheikh Zayed Mosque in many materials used in Turkey, New Zealand, was brought to the world in many different countries such as Germany.
Visiting the Sheikh Zayed Mosque are not only allowed to visit for Muslims, but also to Jews, Christians and even Atheists
The main courtyard, which can accommodate 30,000 people, is designed with the inspiration from the Badshahi Mosque in Pakistan and the 2nd Hasan Mosque in Morocco.
With the 17.000 square meter-wide is one of the most impressive section of the mosque. The columns and floors in the courtyard are completely furnished with white stones and marbles. Especially under Abu Dhabi's burning sun, these white marbles shine, giving to the Mosque a unique view.
There are four minarets 107 meters high, erected at the each corner of the courtyard, bearing the traces of Egypt, North Africa and Ottoman architecture.
Sheikh Zayed was buried in a tomb which is at the northern part of this complex building.
The mosque surrounded by pools illuminated by floodlights at night. Visitors take photographs in these pools and have the chance to take part in a photo contest called “Spaces of Light” organized by the management of the mosque every year. The desirable photographs are exhibited at the Emirates Palace Hotel lobby and are sold later at the Abu Dhabi souvenir shops.
Sheikh Zayed Mosque has three Guinness World Records with the largest hand-woven carpet in the world, the largest chandelier and the largest dome in the world.
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