Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
Eighty-two white marble domes and the largest hand-knotted carpet in the world.
Duration
1 hr 30 min – 2 hrs 30 min
Best time
At sunset
Open
Every day, except Friday morning
Entry price
Free
The mosque was completed in 2007 and holds around forty thousand worshippers. It deliberately brings together influences from across the Muslim world — Moroccan, Mughal, Ottoman — rather than a single style.
The carpet in the prayer hall is the largest hand-knotted carpet in the world: over five thousand square metres, made by a thousand Iranian craftswomen, and its patterns are designed to guide the alignment of the prayer rows. The courtyard columns are inlaid with mother-of-pearl and semi-precious stone in floral patterns.
Getting there
South of Abu Dhabi, near the Musaffah bridge. Taxi from the centre, twenty minutes; the visitor centre is underground, beneath the esplanade.
Hours
Closed to visitors on Friday morning
What to bring
- Covering clothes
Rules on site
Strict dress: ankles, wrists and neck covered for everyone, hair covered for women — a garment is lent, but stocks run out. Booking a slot online is expected, and the mosque closes to visitors on Friday morning.